Don't teach doctors
by MilleniumNote
Summary: Quinn, an elementary school teacher, was rather the person to spare herself from visiting a doctor. And she wasn't prepared to meet someone with that caliber yet so shameless. SlowBurn/Modern AU/OCxLaw/Multiple OP characters/Future Lemon/ (IN REVISION: CH1-2 DONE)
1. The patience of patients

_**A/N:** After two years of writing, I've learned enough to finally sit down and revise the chapters regarding grammar and phrasing! The content will stay completely the same though!_

 _1\. I'm not a native English speaker, so I appreciate any advice on my grammar and phrasing. In general, it will start off quite unappealing, but I hope it gets better in the later chapters. After finishing this story (or the first half of it), I may go back to edit all chapters. Also, since this is just a fanfic and made for pure fun, I won't take the time to look for a beta._

 _2\. Attention: very slow buuuurn._

* * *

 **1\. The patience of patients**

"Quinn!" someone shouted around the corner of her room, early in the morning hours. Still lying in bed, Quinn moved her blanket from her face to gaze at the open door. A young brunette was standing at the doorway, holding a DIN A3 paper in her hand. "What is this?!"

Quinn tried to focus the sheet through the blurry filter over her view. "Oh, uh... this is from one of my students."

"Why the hell is the whole living room full with this crap?"

Quinn straightened from her bed, rubbing her eyes while mumbling, "this isn't crap, they did it with great effort..."

The brunette half-lidded her eyes, lowering her arm with the picture. "You don't believe it yourself, do you?"

"God damn it, I had no space in my tiny room, so I borrowed the living room!" She wasn't a grumpy person, but today was different. Every single word her friend was saying annoyed her while her brain could explode by how sensitive her ears felt.

"And why didn't you clean it up afterward?"

"I didn't feel well." Quinn lay back down and turned to the wall, pulling the blanket back on her. Too many questions within too much noise.

The brunette sighed and entered, put the picture down and opened the thick curtains next to her bed. "Majored in arts and sports, only to become an elementary school teacher; what a life."

"I'm very happy with my life...," Quinn murmured in her bed, hiding from the light. What did she mean by 'only' anyway? She had chosen that path well-thought and she had more holidays than her in two years.

Her roommate looked down at her with a brow rose. "And thereby you're like a child yourself, don't wanna get up for work?"

"I've signed off sick for today. And I'm not a child."

Rolling her eyes, she mumbled, "sure not." She sat down on Quinn's bed, careful not to sit on her legs. "You should get a guy already."

Under the blanket, Quinn rolled her eyes herself, irked by that ever-repeating topic. "He'd be the child then."

"Oh Quinn, not all men are like your ex."

"I swear, if he had told me he was 15, I would've believed him right away... My students are even smarter."

Her friend nestled down with a big blank smile. "Yeah yeah, all men are stupid, all men are selfish, what just happened to the girl that was craving romance so much?"

Jumping with her torso up, Quinn saud, "that time's over since years, so stop asking!"

Amused, her friend pushed herself up too, saying "sure" until she looked at her. "Oh geez, you look awful."

"Awful sick or just awful?"

"Awful sick. You should look for a doctor."

"No thanks." Quinn buried herself back under her blanket.

Her friend got up and ripped the thick piece of fabrics off her. "Geez! You never go to the doctor! You're so childish!"

Quinn sat up, trying to get the blanket back, but she was too exhausted to do anything without strain so that giving up was, to her bad, the only choice.

Her friend rested her hands on her hips, trying one last time. "You go and look for a doctor today, okay?" She was only two years older than Quinn, but enough to feel superior if that one acted irresponsibly regarding her health. She knew Quinn was not the type to sign off ill that easy unless she was really in bad conditions; hell, that girl even got to work when she stayed awake 48 hours straight.

Pursing her lips, Quinn folded her arms in defiance and narrowed her eyes. "They can't help you anyway. You get in, they tell you you've caught a cold, they prescribe you painkillers."

"Promise me you'll look for a doctor today," her friend repeated with a daring tone.

"No."

"Quinn."

"Judy."

"The hospital isn't even that far!"

Quinn looked away. "I surely won't go looking for a _hospital_ when I just have a cold."

Judy turned around with a big groan. "GOD why you so stubborn?!"

"I love you too."

Walking out of the room again, Judy stopped at the doorway to face her roommate with a warning. "I'll get to work now, don't dare to stay at home. You know, it's not a cold."

"See you!"

Annoyed, she left the spot and shortly afterward the apartment. Quinn sank back down, her tight lungs not even allowing her a proper exhalation. She grabbed her own face with the back of her hand, only to determine a warm temperature on her skin. Her condition right then was not the worst, but it was also not okay and gave her a good fight in not moaning out her complaints.

Go and seeing the doctor was in her opinion unnecessary though, sleeping was the best medicine anyway. Unfortunately, she needed to get a medical certificate, gave her no legit way around.

Her lungs deflate the little air and she pulled the blanket back over her body. It should be just a few extra hours sleep before she would actually head to the local hospital, letting them check on her.

...

Some hours had passed since Quinn had fallen back to sleep after declaring her previous condition as worthless to mention. This time though, she was feeling a little ─ or notably ─ worse, what didn't help at all when it came to increasing her motivation to leave the house and talk to anybody.

Nevertheless, she forced herself up to get dressed in thick sweatpants and a sweater, fulfilling her unspoken promise towards Judy. If it wasn't for her, she would just stay in bed and use one of her holidays to explain her day ─ if not day _s_ ─ off without medical evidence (she wouldn't).

Quinn left the apartment with a big headache, supported by dizziness asking her face to meet the ground of the cold street. It was the end of the winter season, February, but still, winter enough to keep calling it like that. Her face reddened by the cold breeze that hit her hard, freezing her bared fingers, which she shove into her coat pockets. Her legs dragged her through the streets with the wish of just dying on the way, only to spare herself the struggle of getting to any physician.

It was a ten-minute bus ride from the nearest stop at her place, which was an additional six minutes away. Standing and waiting for the bus at the stop with only the stop sign and a faded timetable, she glared into the gray sky, dullness hovered over the city and tinted everything to melancholy. Melancholic, that was how she was feeling at the moment if she had to word her mood; but it was just the weather, just the current vibe of her surrounding that affected her a little.

Meanwhile, her breathing was heavier than before and she wheezed into space, glaring to her environment through her drowsy eyes. _Go and see the doctor she said..._ Quinn complained in her head as she was thinking back to her cozy bed that was calling her to take a big nap in full length right away.

Reaching the hospital, the sick girl could cry by what her eyes captured. Of course, it was overfilled in there, right in the winter season where every second to third agonized from any illness. Moving like a zombie to the reception, she tried to cease her loud wheezing for air as embarrassment met her. Those waiting figures were already gazing like she was abnormal even there was nothing to be surprised about in a hospital.

And after standing in the row for a torturing time, the nurse told her to take place, waiting _again ─_ probably for another painful hour. On the bench in the waiting halls, she closed her eyes as she couldn't bear the chaos around. As a teacher for children, she was trained in patience, but waiting this time was just awful. The more time passed, and the more the seats emptied, Quinn couldn't keep her body straight and lay down to her side on the long bench with her legs still to the linoleum floor. Eyelids staying shut, she listened to her surroundings of nurses and ill people, hoping that it wouldn't take any longer for her to get called in.

 _Go and see the doctor..._ Her head repeated. The last time she had fallen ill, she could cure herself pretty much without paying any doctor a visit. Well, those had taken two weeks of her summer but she needed no medication, pills or drugs... Her body would handle that alone.

"Oh, Dear," Quinn heard a female voice saying, and the steps of heels getting closer to her. Opening her eyes, she could see a familiar face crouching in front of her and touching her head with worry she sometimes saw at school.

"Oh, this is where you're working," said Quinn with half-opened eyes and a small smile.

"You look horrible, Dear!" the woman stated which was one of her many student's parents she greatly got along with; one of the age that could have been her own mother. Her head shifted from side to side, and back to the girl. "Have you been waiting long?"

"Finally my turn?" asked she with a smile that was more wryly since there was no real pleasure to small talk with anyone in her current state. It had grown worse since she had left the apartment. Grasping her mind together to talk was hard; the sweat in her hands that heated on her skin thawed her froze fingers as she curled them into the warm palms.

"It's so overfilled today, I'm really sorry!"

A sarcastic laugh came out of her mouth, somewhat frustrated. "Oh boy..."

"Yeah... part of them are just exaggerating, I'm so─" The female doctor stopped her whisper and gave her surroundings and fellow people another scanning look. "Wait, wait, I'll get you someone."

"Ah no, its─"

"Trafalgar!"

Walking down the hallway of the hospital, passing the sick patients, a young man with a coffee mug already to his lips for a sip, turned his head by the call of his female coworker. As he stopped, he gave her a flat stare over his shoulder, cold and calm impression leaving his mouth. "Hm?"

She got up again. "What are you doing now?"

"Taking my break."

"Can you do me a favor please and treat that girl before you do...?" asked she and pointed with her hand to Quinn.

The guy made a full turn, lowering the hand with the mug in, and narrowed his brows with one raising to unpleasantness. "You're asking me to take over _your_ patients after I come from a two hours operation?"

"Hey, these are your patients as well," the woman claimed with a smile, almost too obtrusive judging how her mouth corners raised.

"And why don't you?"

"I'm busy."

"GPs," he said, devaluing her position in the hospital; but she knew it was not to be taken seriously at all. Like many others was his job tiring, but he disliked _that_ part of his contract as it was sure not as fun as being a pure surgeon.

"And one's already waiting for me, and there are so many others before her who actually could wait! She's really exhausted..."

"Not my shift."

"Pretty please?"

He let the moment rest until he turned away again, the mug pulled back to his lips. "I'm leaving."

"Please, Dear, do me the favor!"

"Geez, you already sound like my mother."

"Trafalgar, you owe me that!"

Stopping midways, he rolled his eyes with a sigh and looked over his shoulder again, moving his gaze briefly down to the pitiful person on the bench, wrapped in thick winter clothing and the pompom of the beanie, half size of the head. "Fine," he said annoyed but in defeat. Standing in a person's debt was his soft spot; she knew it and she kept looking for a situation to take advantage of it. "Call your friend in, I'll get there in ten minutes."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** GP= general practitioners_


	2. Miserable self-control

**2\. Miserable self-control**

Inside the infirmary, Quinn was waiting on the exam table for the doctor to come while nausea caused her brows to furrow as soundless complaints. She was hoping to leave the place as soon as possible. It was the typical smell of a hospital, so sterile, she disliked it for no reason. Or maybe because her mother had bugged her head with negative thoughts about those kinds of environments. Those freaking expensive ones...

 _If I'm dying here, Judy...,_ she thought, already imagined her friend's broken-hearted reaction of her death. Closing her eyes by the long take of the doctor, she felt like almost falling asleep on the exam table she was lying on and she could swear this thing was getting more and more comfortable any minute she was spending on it.

"How can I help?" a male voice called her out of her relaxation and she rushed her body up in embarrassment, making him raising a brow to her sudden reaction. "The stretcher's actually there to lie down, so no worry about any discomfort," he said, his tone just as halfhearted as his stoic face.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm... uhm, yeah... just..."

It's been a while since she had paid any doctor a visit, those old people she mostly wasted her time with, but no one had told her that those could also be so... young.

"Miss? I'm asking for your complaints."

Quinn was lost for a moment. She wouldn't say that was her type of men, she actually had no type, but she had never seen someone as handsome as that guy in front of her. And well, she had been running into some eye candies, especially during her sports study, so was it practically making him to one of her types?

As no answer was given due to her little perplexity, the doctor sighed and walked up to the desk, picked up a board with a piece of paper attached on and an additional small note on the lower border. "Miss, you haven't even filled out the form for new patients."

"Uhh yeah... that's because I was too exhausted to do," she spoke out her excuse slowly, eyeing the man up and down as his gaze was still on the paper. Her view fell to his hands, tattooed for a doctor, and crap, what for tattoos. Across his fingers he had the word DEATH inked on each hand, Quinn wondered soon if she had landed with some Satan follower because of anything wrong she ever had done and thought.

 _This makes no sense..._ He was a doctor, someone to help people in need. Maybe it was a warning that all his patients die; maybe he was contracted to the Devil; maybe he was Death in person. Amused by her overdone thoughts, she chuckled quietly.

He put the board down, turning back to his patient with both his hands shoved into the long white coat. "So, Miss Heady. I listen."

"Uh, headaches, nausea, sore throat, dizziness, probably a cold, so yeah."

His brow rose again and he eyed her with lazy expression ─ the way a doctor should not look. "I don't think much of self-diagnose." He pulled out a stethoscope. "Please free your upper body for me to check."

She put down her beanie and with slight embarrassment and took off her thick sweater to only sit in her top with spaghetti straps. He was a doctor, she did not know why it bothered her so much as the look of some half dressed patient should be daily to him.

Putting the stethoscope on her back, he told her to take deep breaths; the same with her chest area. "Since when do you feel ill?"

"Yesterday."

"Fever?"

"I don't think so."

Gray was the color of his iris and they were eyeing her face, making Quinn feeling a little awkward. "You don't think so?" he asked, unimpressed by her vague statement to what she nodded carefully. The back of his hand touched her forehead and she startled a little, moving her eyes away from the young man by the uncommon touch of some good-looking man. "Miss, you obviously got a fever at that moment and it doesn't seem low to me."

"Oh, okay then... yeah, got a fever."

"Any pain in your body?"

"Everything pretty much pains."

His hands signalized her to turn a bit. She did and was following him with her eyes, how he walked behind her. Quinn startled with goosebumps blossoming over her skin as his fingers pressed against her back between her shoulder blades. "Holy, are your fingers dead or why are they so cold?"

Hearing no comment to that really bad joke but only awkward silence, she tried to smile. "I'm sorry... elementary school teacher, there my childish humor..."

"Does it hurt when I'm pressing here?"

"Yes."

"And here?"

"Yes."

"Here too?"

"Yes."

"How old are you?"

She turned her face, looking up to the guy, a bit confused. "Huh?"

"Your age, Miss Heady."

"23."

The fact that he returned nothing after her answer made her feel stupid. Had he associated her with a younger age? Was she too childish right then? It actually shouldn't matter what the doctor thought about her personally, but his appearance was too confusing for her mind so that she felt like a stupid teenager again that cared about a guy's impression and craved for romance with a good-looking male celebrity.

While she couldn't stop eyeing his features, uncommon for a doctor to have that many piercings on his lobe, he was checking out her throat, ears, and eyes. During the session, she only had been sitting, so she wondered how tall he was. He looked pretty tall compared to herself.

"Just a strong viral infect. I can prescribe you some painkillers and an antipyretic. Depending on your pain level, you can go from one to no more than six a day. Antipyretic, in the morning once, and in the evening. You better stay in bed until you feel better, and drink lots of water. If it gets worse, come back."

"Oka─" Quinn abruptly covered her mouth. Oh no, she did not feel well at all and what wanted to get out now was just really bad timed. Actually, she should have seen that coming; it must happen some time around the day; it was just unfortunate that it was going to happen right then.

"The bags are right behind you."

She turned around, taking a barf bag as fast as she could and right in front of the doctor, she couldn't hold back and emptied her stomach. Way. Too. Early.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to, oh my fucking god...!" The embarrassment was big enough for a death wish as she had puked half off the bag, some landed on his shoes. The doctor closed his eyes, taking a quiet and deep breath. She looked at him, her red face already covered by her fever, and praying became attractive; praying for a wonder to happen, one to stop time or travel through; or deleting one's memory; killing her or him.

"It's alright. Happens. I also prescribe you some stomach pills for your nausea. Just get well soon."

With utmost shame and frustration by her accident and his dry response, her face felt like sinking too deep until she ended as a puddle on the hospital's ground. Next to the other puddle... _Oh man..._

* * *

In the late evening, Judy came back from work, strolling home with tea labeled 'mood-booster'. "Hey Quinn, I'm back! Gotcha something," she said and took off her shoes, getting inside the apartment. Hearing no answer, she walked up to the girl's room, seeing her crouching on her bed like an abused child. "Are you alright?"

She didn't answer but was hiding her face, making her friend worry and get closer. "Hey, what happened? Did you go to the hospital today?"

With a silent thumbs up, Quinn confirmed.

"Did everything go alright?"

Quinn turned her thumb to 180 degrees.

Shock washed over Judy's face and she sat down on the bed herself. "Oh my god, what happened? What did they say?"

Like it was a plane, Quinn moved her fist with the flexed thumb up and down until she made a crash landing to the mattress with it showing downwards.

"Oh no, is it something serious? Is it contagious? Is it life-threatening?!"

Slowly, she lifted her head and moved her unhappy face toward Judy, it hurt to look. Judy furrowed her brows, compassion grew in her. "Quinn..."

"I puked on the doctor."

Silence.

For Quinn's taste, unnecessary long silence.

She already had seen coming what was next and wished she was able to slap her friend before she would open her mouth.

"You did what...?" Judy gave her a confused and appalled look as she whispered her question.

"I puked on the doctor."

Judy shook her head slowly to her repeat, again with a low and disbelieving tone. "You did what?"

"I puked on the doctor."

Her mouth began to tremble, her lower eyelids lifting by the tension she built in her face. "You did...," she repeated one more, "WHAT?!" Bursting out in great laughter, she fell on her back and was holding her belly from the vibrating pain of her amusement.

"God damn it! I puked on the doctor, how often do you wanna hear it?!"

"Until it's not funny anymore!" said Judy, still laughing like there was no tomorrow. She tried to get a hold of herself, gasping in her guffaw and sat back up with her finger in the air. "You, you mean, puking like..." Pausing herself to fall back to a soundless laugh, she wiped away her tears. "Like actually: wuaaah!"

Quinn rolled her eyes, muttering, "please just die of your laughter."

"W-what did he say?" Slowly, Judy returned to normal, having some giggles left, and wiped with her fingers also the remained tears away that had slightly smudged her mascara.

With annoyance to repeat, Quinn recited halfheartedly, "'it's okay, happens, get well soon' blah blah."

"Oh girl, it's just a doctor, no reason to be so embarrassed." She lay her arm around Quinn with a wide grin.

Quinn was convinced her confident friend could only say so because she hadn't seen him. Judy was way worse when it came to dealing with handsome men; because she was the hunter, she was putting everything on her sex appeal and Quinn could already say that he would be definitely on her hunting list.

Grabbing the girl's shoulders, Judy shook her a little in comfort. "Oh come on, just bring him one of those little cute apology baskets of yours."

"I will never go back there again."

Her brows narrowed with obvious sarcasm. "Right, better leave your first impression and end up as the girl that pukes on her doctors in the hospital."

Quinn stared at her with half-lidded eyes, unamused about her gloating talk. "I will never go back there again, I said."

"Yeah, that's the better choice."

"Judy."

"Yeah, I would totally do the same, totally."

"You would."

Judy smirked and rolled her eyes, her brows raising with them. "My tolerance to embarrassment is actually quite high. Don't show it and no one will say something."

"Unless it's a good-looking penis on two legs."

She opened her mouth, inhaling deeply with the attempt to comment. Pointing with her index finger to the air, Judy then said, "or a third leg."

"God, your articulation is gross."

Returning a smile, she got back on her feet. "Don't tell me our hospital finally employs handsome doctors."

"Maybe...?" Quinn said with her head tilting away, staring at her with one brow perked.

Judy chuckled. "Oh, your taste in men is weird anyway, don't worry, I won't be interested in him."

"What do you mean by _weird?"_

"You don't have high demands, that's what I meant," Judy said as if it was a matter of fact, shrugging her shoulders. "Have you seen the guy you've slept with last? Gross."

"Excuse me, that douche bag was my boyfriend."

"Yeah, _was_ is good." Judy changed her mouth to light disgust and nodded. "You're young, blonde and beautiful; of course that dude had to say yes. The question's more, how could _you_?"

Quinn's mouth corners sank with a deep inhalation. "He seemed really..."

"Stupid? Pervert? Hungry?"

She exhaled swiftly. "...nice."

Shaking her head to her statement, Judy turned away and walked off the room. "Imagine how it is to sleep with someone in your league. I go and make you a tea."

"Relationships are more than just sex!" Quinn shouted after her as she had already left the room, made her pouting her lips and hugged onto her pillow.

Someone in her league... Quinn knew she was not bad looking, but she did not want to classify people through their appearance, that was what she was telling her students all the time. Recognizing beauty and art in everything and the whole poetry talk. It wasn't long and her mind drifted off to the doctor from today, recalling his appearance.

He had worn a black button up shirt and blue denim jeans. Under his clothes, she couldn't determine his body type though, but she wondered how he─ _Oh Quinn, don't be like her._


	3. The bomb

**3\. The bomb**

Only this month was left and Law would finally switch from his day shift to his late to night one. That would probably end his ever upcoming debate with Shachi and Penguin to go out for drinks every possible night since Law was just too tired as a doctor with changing and occasionally extra work hours.

The last time he had gone out, he remembered to somehow had landed with that waitress in bed and overslept the next morning in her apartment. Not that it had been a bad night, but for another time it would have been way better, made him learning that nights out with the two were often bad ideas. The reason for his tiredness was partly due to them. Way too often; he should stop getting soft with those and thereby were it _them_ to follow him anywhere.

For today, he had only two surgeries on the plan, both presumingly not even that long. Looking through the shift chart, he read it to be a little late in the afternoon. For the rest, it was just some paperwork and patient talks; but some spare time, until his shift would officially start, was left to his good.

A morning coffee should help him over the day; not that he wouldn't be able to perform anything without, but why not? It's not like he would sip those stuff every day, every hour, to cause any unwanted side effect.

Walking off the office, back to the parking lot to get some forgotten papers from his car, Law spotted a familiar face walking towards the hospital, catching his attention by the obtrusive look it was carrying.

That oversized pompom over the blonde wavy hair, dressed in baggy pants to allow no picture of the shape underneath; how should he forget that ridiculous look? Well, it was kind of cute, but that was not the reason but more that he had made some indelicate memories two days ago. She was carrying a little basket with her, seeming somewhat unsure when she landed on the parking lot of the hospital as her eyes appeared quite disoriented in space.

Quinn startled a tiny bit as she spotted the doctor not many meters far from her unlocking his yellow car from the distance. _Wow, what a car_ , she thought, raising a brow that projected her wavering of awing in positiveness, or the thought of it to be a waste of money. But the color was a rare choice and nice though.

Carefully, she walked up to the tall guy, hands tightly around the basket handle.

Law saw her from the corner of his eyes, surprised by the unexpected approach, and his head tilted to her as she stood next to him. He eyed her discreetly; how she strolled to him in her sweatpants and blue coat, dressed like they were on the north pole. Yep, ridiculous. "You're the girl that puked on me," said he flatly, like he was taking his time to actually realized that.

Feeling stupid by his statement, she only returned an uncomfortable and awkward smile, what was also her confirmation to him. "Yeah, right, I'm the girl that puked on you. He-he..." The verbalized laugh to the end fainted in its weirdness.

"If you're looking for the hospital entrance, it's right there," he said and turned with his lazy look to the building to give her an idea of his words.

"Ah no, I actually came here to apologize for last time," Quinn corrected him and held up the basket. "This is for you, an apology basket."

His eyes drifted down to the little container in a size of a small melon, sweets smiling at him. "Apology basket?" he questioned slowly.

"There's no bomb in, don't worry," she said in deadpan as she saw his skeptical gaze over her little present.

Unamused, he was raising a brow; then looking down to his left hand where the coffee mug was in and to his right where he got his keys.

"Oh sorry! I, well, I-"

"If you can hold it a little longer, I can put it in my car," he said and began to walk from the spot, all as a matter of fact that she would, and not caring if she wouldn't.

Quinn followed him. "Of course!"

Standing by his car, Law opened the passenger's side, taking the basket and placed it inside. Patient gifts were not uncommon, though they rather appeared with thanking intentions than to let him wash over an unwanted event.

The blonde girl eyed the neat vehicle with big eyes, black leather seats confronting her view with a modern operating system on the front, causing her face to turn to him with slow astonishingly nods. "That's, a, fancy, transport."

He didn't comment on that and only picked up a thick folder before he closed the door again.

Back with her eyes to the inside of the car, she noticed a bobblehead doll of a, on two feet standing ice bear; surprise moving over her by that cute toy in a man's car. Perhaps, that was a gift from someone like his girlfriend. She smiled a little and leaned a bit forward, both her hands clasped behind her back. "So... the incident's forgotten, right?"

"Unless you got some magic in your basket, I can't guarantee you that my brain's deleting stuff on command," he replied, not jokingly at all so that she wondered if it was in deadpan or really just a weird characteristic. "But thank you for your effort Miss... sorry, what's your name again?"

"Quinn." She instantly shook her head, correcting herself, "Heady." Drifting her eyes to the side in awkwardness, she finished her answer just with her full name to make it somehow less uncomfortable that she hadn't introduced herself by her surname first. "...Quinn Heady."

"Thanks for your effort, Miss Heady. Are you back to health?"

"Uh no, but I'm feeling better," she replied.

To her discomfort, he was eyeing her face, which indeed looked extremely exhausted and everything else than healthy. "Miss, haven't I told you to stay in bed?"

In defense, she smiled unsure at him and motioned with her hand between him, her and his car. "Yeah, but well..., the apology..."

"I said it was a simple viral infect, but it can soon develop into something more serious. If you don't want to die, you listen to your doctors."

Froze by his bluntness, she kept her unsure and awkward smile, saying no word until he noticed that there was nothing from her side anymore; so he walked off again with a dry, "get well."

Quinn couldn't sort if that was just macabre humor, or his way to talk to his fellow people; his _patients_. Thinking back about his finger tattoos, it was not improbable that this man's character was just a little something else, but not further her concern. Teaching her students, she always told them to care for other people's feeling, being a little more compassionate as the background and to it leading intentions were not always clear yet surely reasonable somehow. Of course, he was a doctor and for him, dying perhaps nothing special than a natural event, but she thought it to be still wrong, even not personal but in general.

Tilting her head to his back, Quinn rounded her mouth with her hands and shouted. "50-50 for you it's a bomb!"

* * *

50-50 for him it's a bomb? He had to smirk a little when his clumsy patient had said that today, amused as she probably had been not sure how to digest his sudden blunt statement about dying. Or there was indeed a bomb inside.

After long work hours, Law finally left the hospital around seven. Getting inside his car, he put his bag to the backseat, sighing out in his lassitude from the day. His eyes shifted down to the basket on the passenger seat, the little sweet collection asking to be eaten. Glaring at it a little, Law picked out a chocolate bar, annoyed that he indeed fell for it and he drove off while nibbling the sweetness. The rest would he probably give to Shachi and Penguin as he wasn't that much of a sweet-eater.

His car was a pretty modern model, incoming calls were directly transferred to his speakers inside, like the call from Shachi now.

Picking it up, Law didn't hesitate to make a statement right away before his telephone partner on the other line could even word himself. "No, not tonight."

 _"You didn't even let me speak!"_

"Shachi, I'm too tired to go out anywhere tonight."

 _"Law, I need you! You're the captain!"_

He sighed. "You got Penguin, you don't need me." Through his subconscious, he was grabbing for another bar in the basket, opening the package as he held in front of a red light.

 _"Penguin's off today; got a little injury during work and needs some rest."_

Rolling his eyes, he thought what an idiot that was as he managed to hurt himself quite often. On his hand, it was probably uncountable how often he had treated him inside and outside the hospital; the guy should already start to be ashamed of himself. But well, he seemed to attract those kinds of people when he just thought about Corazon from his younger age whose picture was surely in the dictionary next to the word 'clumsy'. "I had a long day, I'm off as well."

 _"Caaaaptain, pleaaaaase!"_

Annoyed by his whimpering, which went on for an hour but felt like two, or three, or five, Law gritted his teeth, gasped out and quirked his upper lip. "Fine. When? Where? What?"

...

Holding in front of the bar his friend had asked him to, big laziness painted already over his face as he heard the dozen people inside with their grouped laughter, also seeing some smoking and drinking in front of the entrance. A night that he might regret, _again_. As he wanted to get out his car, his eyes glanced back on the little basket, getting them rolling. He took it then to put it into the car's trunk. It wouldn't be a single case if anyone in party mood or drunken would accidentally sit on his stuff, perhaps damaging it when he would be the one to carriage anyone home. Having some butts destroying food, though it was just some snacks, he disliked the nasty thought.

After he locked his car twice, Law walked inside the full place; Shachi spotting him right away, waving like a happy child at him. "Oi, Law!"

Getting to him in a casual posture, hands in his pockets, Law already felt tired by sensing his party mood. "I hope for you this night it's worth it," he threatened his friend dryly.

Shachi laughed, signing the waitress to get them two beers. He then leaned with both his arms on the table, grinning in joy. "How was your day?"

Law sat with his legs crossed and his head resting against his fist, obviously done for the day. "As always, nothing exciting and no, no one died."

"You're always coming with the same, is there never a highlight at your work?" said his friend pretty disappointed. "I imagined it to be quite funny to work in a hospital."

"You're watching too much TV."

But a highlight... Shortly absence, he remembered the puke on his shoes, but that was sure nothing exciting to tell him. Highlight would be more a bomb, _literally_. Law started to imagine how it would be if that basket _was_ plugged with a bomb, and how he would act if it was now going to explode. And how he would punish its causer. Puking on his shoes and then trying to kill him but failing with 'only' getting his car destroyed? Not funny.

The two were chatting for a while with their beers; Shachi constantly eyeing and swooning about any attractive girl that came in. Talking about the other gender, Law had been noticing for quite a while the stare of some long haired female a few tables farther from him. His gaze shifted to her, chestnut brown and voluminous hair meeting his eyes, falling into her deep decollete of the red dress she was presenting with confidence. She gave him a sly smile and as their eye contact stood longer than five seconds, she stood up and moved with another girl towards them, her heels clacking even within that noise.

"Hi boys," said she, her and her friend waving at them. "You're free to talk?"

The sparkle in Shachi's eyes could dazzle the whole room if it was anatomic possible. "Oh sure! How can someone reject two beautiful ladies!"

Laughing, they were taking the free seats, the brunette's eyes moving to Law with her sly smile. "Oh Mister, you're looking like you don't belong here."

"What makes you assuming that, Miss?" he said, eyeing her features discreetly without big salience. The way she was dressed, highlighting her bare bronze legs during winter days, made it obvious that she wouldn't be satisfied if she wouldn't get laid tonight.

"Those tired look in your gray eyes," she explained, piercing him with her own brown ones.

He smirked lightly. "What if that's my every day look?"

Opening her mouth a bit as she wasn't prepared for that question, she took some seconds until she replied. "Well, that's something different of course." She then smiled brightly, reaching out her hand to introduce herself. "I'm Judy."


	4. Surprising house call

**4\. Surprising house call**

Waking up in the cold morning, Quinn felt way better than yesterday. She pushed herself from her bed to leave for breakfast, glancing at the calendar that showed her the eventless Saturday. In her sleeping joggers and spaghetti straps top, she was leaving her room while knotting her hair to a messy bun together.

The first thing her eyes were beholding was a cardigan on the floor, not too unfamiliar but Judy's. A few meters farther, she could spot that woman's high heels, also thrown across the parquet, thus counting as a track that she had been undressing those in a wild exchange of body contact since she usually wasn't the person to treat her shoes so loveless.

Not caring about it at all though, Quinn kicked her cardigan out of her way, getting into the living room that was coupled with the kitchen. A wry smile rested on her face as she grabbed the stuck of DIN A3 drawings from her students that her roommate had left heartless in a corner of the room after piling them together. Putting them aside on the table, she prepared a cup of tea in the morning and enjoyed her toast after she hadn't been able to taste anything for four whole days due to her illness. Eating without tasting was just torture.

Quietly, the door of her friend's room opened and Quinn watched her strolling out to the bathroom in her rosé morning coat, passing her casual with a yawning "morning," before she disappeared behind walls.

Glancing over to the door of her room in the wide hallway, sightable from the dining table, Quinn could see her to had left it open and she wondered what playboy she had brought home this time. Many of those one-night standers had been awful as the moment they were acknowledging her in the morning too, they were undressing her only with their gazes, and she bet that their minds stopped somewhere by a threesome. If looks could rape. To pity were those who expected it to be something deeper; or those her friend pushed out merciless, the morning she realized _what_ she had brought home the night either in desperation or drunk.

"Oh Quinn, last night was incredible," Judy said when she walked out of the bathroom with such a satisfied look, taking the chair in front of her mate.

Watching her slumping down, Quinn narrowed her eyes, chewing her bread and swallowed it slowly. "Tell me one. How do you manage not getting furious about your shoes at times like those?"

"It pays off, girl, it pays off," Judy replied with a face carrying confidence about what she wanted and liked. Soon though, she narrowed her brows and switched to revision, details about her past adventures were running through her mind. "Of course, there were times that didn't pay off at all, awful, regret them, but this time..." She raised her brows in awe. "I regret _nothing_."

Ah right, and those who she had expected too much from.

Only staring at her blankly, Quinn gave off a long pulled "uuuh-hu..."

"There was also another guy with him, you probably would've found him cute, not _my_ type but you're demandless anyway. But my coworker took him, she's just like you in annoying, but I like her though," and Judy went on and on and on, Quinn already turned her mind off to only hear blah blah blah. How amazing it was that she could live that life without feeling any regret (besides the bad ones), and that she wasn't scared to be known as _the_ whore of the hood. Munching her bread calmly while her face was still locked to her friend's with half absence, Quinn swallowed it and took a gulp of her tea without her eyes ever leaving the babbling girl.

Only to spit it out instantly as she _did_ look away.

"Quinn, what's wrong with you?! Do you need a doctor?! I have one in my bed!"

Quinn coughed with her hand to her chest, her distressed face leaning down. "J-Judy... J-J-Judy..."

"Miss Heady, you're more clumsy than I had expected."

From all seven billion people on the world, the dozens in that city, why the hell did it have to be him? Because Judy already had them all?

Judy turned around, looking over to the topless man that was casually standing behind her with his hands shoved into his denim pockets and then moved her head to her embarrassed friend, rotating between them with big speechless eyes. "No way, this is the guy you puked on?!"

Quinn's face reddened and she grabbed some tissues to clean the mess she had done, her head half sunken, not daring any eye contact. "Y-yeah, the guy I puked on..."

Throwing the tissues into the trashcan nearby, Quinn grabbed her upper arms to hide her braless torso, passing the two quickly only with a blunt "be right back."

Law tilted his body a little after her, watching how the girl disappeared behind the door across the one he had come from. He then looked over to the girl he had bedded and she smiled a little awkward, gesturing him to sit down. Well, he wasn't the type to stay after a night at some stranger's place to have breakfast with them, but for now, it was not quite that much of a stranger's home, right?

Quinn put on her undergarment and a hoodie, eyeing herself in the mirror to face that annoyance of hers. Why the hell now? Why the hell him? Well, now she had seen a little how he looked like under his shirt and what she saw, though it had been just a swift moment before her eyes panicky had looked for another spot to focus, it didn't disappoint her but rather went over her expectations.

He was tattooed, crap he was.

As had mentioned, she was used to the trained look of a male's torso due to her study on a college for sports and athletics (besides the dudes her friend had brought home with the same morning picture), but that guy was a one-off, and she felt the inconvenient longing of seeing it again, just to be sure that she was _not_ taken by her doctor's _tattooed_ physique.

With a big sigh, she was taking steps outside, rolling in all casual with a rather less relaxed face but also not too much in suspense. It was just one of another surprise of Judy; nothing unusual and to get big about but more to amusingly remember for the future. Sitting down back to her place - the guy 'at least' dressed in a shirt now - she smiled. "So. Good morning, doctor."

"Good morning, Miss Heady. I see you're dressed more properly now."

"I see you too, doctor."

"I think I have less need to do, Miss," Law said with a brow rose.

"I wouldn't know why it's not proper to sit in my top without undergarment in _my_ house," she stated and changed to a more sarcastic smile.

"I mean for you being ill."

Another embarrassing moment for her misinterpretation, and she looked away, lightly stammering her words. "W-well, I'm feeling m-much better today, doctor..."

"Good to hear, Miss Heady."

Judy observed the awkward conversation between them, sinking her lids half over her eyeballs. "Oh geez, people! Law, Quinn. Quinn, Law," she said and motioned her hand between the two. "I know you're doctor and patient, formal rules etc. etc., but please only do that in the office." She left the chair with rolling eyes and went to the fridge, not far from them.

"Yes ma'am," Quinn responded and pulled her plate that she had left standing back to her, continuing to act all casual like every day. As she wanted to bite into her half-eaten breakfast, she noticed the stare of the guy in front of her, making her slow down and pause with a blank look. "Toast?"

"I don't like bread."

"That was not my question."

He smirked lightly against his fist as they leaned folded to his mouth. "If you mean your question was requesting my current need, I can tell you that you simply put a question mark behind a single word what made it multiple ways possible to interpret your 'sentence' without a clear context."

Unamused, she put her bread down, sliding her face away. "There it comes the smart ass...," she mumbled, before she exclaimed, "Judy! I'm not hungry anymore, thanks!"

"Mis-, Quinn," he said the corrected address and leaned relaxed back, grabbing his coffee mug. "If you're so meticulous, I just return your demands of verbalization."

Ignoring him, Quinn turned to the side, looking over to her friend at the cooking plate as she was preparing some bacon. "Judy, why didn't you put the drawings in my room?"

"Which drawings?" the brunette asked semi-interested and didn't even look at her, but focused on her sizzling pieces of meat.

"Those of my stuuudents!" she said annoyed as it should be obvious, since they had spoken about those before, not too long ago.

"Don't know what you mean."

"Theeese!" Grabbing the top one, Law watched her holding it displeased for her friend to face it. Those must have been for art class, probably second or third grade from the skills and task level to translate.

Miffed, she turned back around, meeting the blunt glaring of her doctor again. "I don't feel well if you're staring at me like that - _not_ at the hospital."

He chuckled lightly, looking away from her. "I'm sorry, Quinn."

"It's okay, just saying" she responded and continued her breakfast that already had gotten cold. Small-talking with the guys her roommate had brought home was nothing unusual to her, so she tried to treat him just like those.

"But perhaps you shouldn't let your stuff lying around if it bothers you so much how others treat them."

Calmly staring at him while chewing her bread finish, she turned back to minding his sojourn. Without losing focus on him, she casually took her mug and drank her tea, putting it back down then to speak out her thought. "Those are not _mine_ but my students'."

"But as a teacher, you're carrying responsibility for them, hence they are also yours," he stated just as calm as her. Her mouth corners sank as the only mark for her argumentative defeat. Smirking amused to her broken pride, he added, "or do you think it's not my problem if one of my patients suffers from an illness, Quinn?"

"Touché."

"Meticulousness, Quinn."

She rolled her eyes lightly. "I already gave up, what more? And why the hell are you saying my name the whole time, is it a neurosis?"

"A neurosis is a functional disorder in which feelings of anxiety, obsessional thoughts or compulsive acts dominate over the agonized, caused by severe trauma. But if you simply mean if it was a repeating habit to say a person's name, no it's not."

Quinn narrowed her eyes with her mouth corners sank to the ground. "But your smart assing is a neurosis."

"I don't know why it should be one," Law replied, sipping his coffee quietly.

She leaned forward, staring challenging into his eyes, and he had to say, he liked her blue eyes. "Perhaps you were called repeatedly stupid as a child and now you've got the urgent to prove anyone that you're not."

Putting his mug aside, he leaned closer to her as well, keeping his neutral gaze as he told her, "perhaps you shouldn't just throw around with medical terms in front of a doctor when you're not aware yourself what those mean."

Judy put the plate bacon between them, saying annoyed, "and now kiss already."

Watching with her sore mooded face how her brunette friend got back to her chair next to the guy, the young teacher left it responseless and leaned like him back. Judy grabbed a bacon and pulled out her phone to check on some news and gossip for today, treating the morning like any other too, with or without guy.

Looking at the plate and back to the blonde, Law asked quite in mockery, "bacon?"

"She's vegetarian," Judy side commented as she didn't care about their prissy issues in wording at all.

"Pescetarian," Quinn corrected her though.

Law raised a brow in interest. "Why only pescetarian?"

"Otherwise I'm too incompetent to get my proteins."

"She loves Sushi." Another comment of her friend fell in.

Quinn rolled her eyes, telling her in a tone that only had developed by a big repeat of the same information. "It's not because of Sushi, and Sushi is not just fish."

So, proteins. Law hadn't seen much, but what he had seen from her body was that she was definitely a sporty girl, her strong but smooth belly abs showing discreetly through the tight spaghetti straps top he had seen her in two times. She had a small frame but her arms were also gently defined, making her appearing firm and healthy. Of course beside those eye bags and light redding in her face due to her infect. He wondered what kind of sport she did to give her that body, or well the upper part he had seen as he only knew her in her big sweatpants. Swimming? Regular fitness? Gymnast?

"I gonna head back to bed after this," he heard Quinn saying between the whole girl's talk he had chosen to be excluded from. There was no need to feed his mind with such silly and disinteresting information.

"You lucky you, I have to work later." Judy sighed at the end of her sentence as her words fainted, and she stared unhappily against the ceiling.

"Lucky? I'm ill," she told her flatly and got up from her chair to wash her empty dishes. Quinn might not appear like that, but god she was feeling exhausted that moment.

The brunette moved her head over to their guest, smiling at him. "And what about you, Law? Heading back to the hospital today?"

"I've got the day off."

Raising a brow, Judy slowly moved her foot to the guy's leg, stroking it gently. "Oh, so you have some spare time huh?"

He smirked with closed eyes, taking a gulp of his coffee. Between the gap of the porcelain and his lips then, he said, "actually no." His eyes moved over to the girl at the sink. "But if one of my patients needs some emergency treatment, I also do house calls." Not that it was true but just a matter of teasing.

With every muscle in her mouth moving to her words, Judy whispered clear and loudly into his ear as a warning, "she's virgin." Her eyes didn't leave Quinn but only had grown in size.

Hearing that, Quinn stiffened annoyed and looked over to her roommate. "What the hell are you saying again?" she said light in tone.

"Theoretically you are, I don't count that douche."

"Can we please stop talking about my private life?"

The brunette grinned at her mockingly. "What? That's how you make friends, sharing personal facts, building trust and such."

"Oh, then thank you for your help of introducing one another Miss Slut who probably had slept with over 100 men now," Quinn responded with blunt sarcasm.

"I don't count them, do you?"

"Yeah, I even got a chart with name, age and size."

"You serious?!"

"Oh just shut up, Judy."

Enough from their girls talk part number two, Law comfortably got up from his chair and put the empty coffee mug down. "Thanks for the coffee, I'm leaving now."

"What, already?" Judy said, looking after the guy as he walked up to the exit, putting his black shoes on.

"Yeah." He opened the door of the apartment. Law had no reason to stay any longer, though it had started quite entertaining.

Disappointed, Judy hung over the backrest of her chair, waving weakly in his direction. That was it with her spare time to fill, and her voice fainted, "okay, see you."

He walked out with a somewhat dry "goodbye," completely poor in emotions.

"Bye bye doctor!" the blonde playfully shouted with a fake smile as she made a peace sign above her head before the gap between the door and its frame shut.

As he was gone, Judy turned right back to her roommate, whispering loudly through her gritted teeth. "What are you fucking doing?"

"What?" Quinn looked at her confused, sinking her arm half ways.

"Those are one of the guy's I'm potentially gonna sleep again within near future, a long-lasting affair, you're ruining everything!"

With slow raising volume, Quinn asked her quite monotonous, "what the fucking hell?"

"You're flirting with him!"

"I'm not flirting with my _doctor_."

Judy sighed, leaning her head back with frustration readable through her brows. "Oh geez, how can I be angry of you when you're so childish, you don't even know what flirting is."

Putting down the drying cloth, the girl walked back to the table, resting both hands on it with an irked face. "I did _not_ flirt with that guy. And even if, let me recite you." Coughing lightly with her fist in front of her mouth, she then mimicked Judy's way to talk, "oh Quinn, your taste in men is weird anyway, don't worry, I won't be interested in him," and added a serious, "amen."

"Oh Quinn, stop being good looking without even trying!"

In appall she looked at her, motioning with her stiff hand annoyed between Judy's and her own body. "Uh excuse me, _I'm_ trying really hard when _you're_ blessed with genetics."

Judy sighed out loud one more, crossing her legs with her face in her palm. "I know he's hot, but can you please just promised me not to flirt with him again? Pleaaaase..."

Rolling her eyes, she answered flippantly with her head jiggling by each word from side to side, "yes ma'am, I promise that I will _not_ 'flirt' with my doctor again, even I didn't anyway."


	5. Professional purpose

**5\. Professional purpose**

"Miss Heady? I don't wanna sit next to Luffy anymore..."

Sitting on her desk at school, Quinn looked down to the ginger-haired girl as she interrupted her thoughts to the unnecessary conversation with Judy about her alleged 'flirt'. It's been a week and it still bugged her in some kind of way. "What bothers you, Nami?"

Nami narrowed her brows, staring at her so serious like she was a grown at the complaints department. She then started to shoot out all her objections for keeping her seat next to her classmate. "He's constantly eating during class! Picking his nose! And ruining my maps!"

"Still?" Quinn asked a little tired and looked over to the mentioned boy, who was a few meters farther, to see him indeed eating his lunch, not even with much effort to hide it. Sitting with an innocent and happy smile on his chair, he laid his lunch box on his lap, eating without concern.

"Yeah! I wanna change my seat!"

It was not an unusual behavior of him, and wherever she placed the boy, punishing him, he still didn't get it right. She was also not the type of person to really _scold_ an elementary school student, yeah how she hated those teachers that always did it in front of the whole class and found actually joy in making their students looking seriously stupid. The worst were those, who thought it would make them 'cool' and 'sassy' in front of the other kids; how poor must a person have been to push some ego in that way? Lying her cheek into her hand, Quinn sighed. "What do you have in mind? Next to Robin again?"

Nami nodded determined, resting her fist against her hips as she looked up at her teacher.

"Alright, but you know, this is only because Zorro is absent," the teacher said. Before the ginger could move, Quinn leaned down to her short student with an unamused but humored face. "And do me a favor and finally stop drawing your maps in art class."

"B-but those were my geography homework!" The little girl claimed somewhat desperate, pouting her lips.

"Nami, the emphasis lies on _home_ , _home_ work," Quinn told her calmly in a teaching tone. If the ginger wouldn't be a child, she would put out the biggest bag of sarcasm she got. Yeah, that doctor was unfortunately right, she was pretty meticulous in wording and sometimes just had the unaware urgent to let that out. Her annoyed face blushed lightly as she thought about Law, longing for revenge as he had defeated her verbally.

"Miss Heady, why are you so red?" The innocent voice of her student got her back to earth, making her aiming unintentionally her miffed face to her.

"No more maps in art class, alright?!" Quinn exclaimed and Nami startled by the sudden mood shift.

Looking down with an extreme sad face and her hands clasped behind her back, Nami twisted her angled foot lightly on the tip of her shoe. "B-but I'm just trying to be ambitious..."

"Stop pouting or you keep your place with Luffy."

The sly child turned around with a grumpy face about her fail in fooling her teacher with her cute acting. "Man!" She got back to her stuff and grabbed them to move her space to Robin, giving the calm and dark-haired girl company.

Quinn then got up as well and walked over to Luffy, squatting next to him as he was distracted by his food. "Bother to lend me your lunch?"

The black haired boy turned his head to her, giggling to his teacher. "Ah miss Heady! I'm sorry but I think this will be only enough for me and my friend."

She raised a skeptical brow, asking in slow tempo, "your friend huh?"

Snickering in his pitch voice, he lifted his shirt to show her a badly drawn and cripple smiley over his belly. Quinn sank her eyelids, only with the thought of how the hell had he managed to get through first grade as those silly actions were daily (also to the other teachers' words).

While he was laughing and his attention low, she grabbed his lunchbox and closed it to only switched him right back to confused madness. "Hey what are you doing?! This is mine!"

"I know, but you'll get it back after you've earned it." The young woman got up, walking back to her desk.

"This is not fair! I was not finished yet!"

Putting it into the lockable drawer, she smiled at the boy quite amused with half-lidded eyes. "Do your task and I'll feed you."

"Miss Heady, you're treating Luffy like an animal again." Another boy snapped in. "Is that ethically correct?"

"No, it's not Usopp. But it's not like I'm mistreating my little Monkey," she said mockingly at the grumpy little brat. Yes, she found joy too in teasing her students a little, but not that this was to taken seriously; the kids knew it was just fun and rather laughed about the situation than their classmate. Luffy was never mad of her for that, he was a lovely boy that she liked just as much as the other kids in her class. "What would your aunt say when I call her?"

"Dadan would say 'hello'!"

A brow twitched to his legit answer and she was surprised how simplicity could be so true and not to scold. "Touché." Locking the drawer, she sat back down to return to what she had been doing before, and no, it was actually not her train of thoughts about her conversation with her roommate but grading another class's work. "Luffy, finish your drawing and you'll get your lunch back, and I _won't_ call your aunt."

Luffy huffed and hung with his head on his desk. "Okay..."

...

During recess, Quinn sat in the teachers' room, fixing her tea mug with a hanging head on the desk herself. With her index finger, she was following the lines of the picture that was printed on it, tired orbs sunken out of reality. It was a bear that smiled at her, made her remembering the bobblehead ice bear doll in that yellow fancy car. She hadn't thought being ill could be cured so easily by visiting the doctor, though he actually hadn't done anything but prescribed her some medication.

"Hey Quinn, you look so low spirits, still sick?" One of her colleagues said as he got into the room as well.

She lifted her head a little, looking at the guy with her still bemused face. "Mentally maybe."

The male teacher laughed and put his water bottle down to the big long table, which expanded in the middle of the room, and took the chair in front of her. "I hope spring will come soon, too many teachers and students are ill this winter."

"I'm sooorry, I didn't mean to," the blonde stated drowsy, lifting her open hand to her apology.

"Yeah, you were the worst. We only got two PE teachers here and that one was ill as well!" He scolded her teasingly. "And he's still!"

Quinn straightened back and gave off a rather sarcastic sigh, grabbing her mug. "My doctor told me to stay in bed, I'm sorryyy," she said then, obviously faking her bad conscience through the pitched vowel at the end of her sentence.

"Don't listen to your doctors, some of them can't even spell a scientific term properly and mean to hide it through their sloppy writing," the guy joked and the blonde forced a smile as it just didn't hit her humor.

She rested her chin in her hand and shifted her eyes to the side, repeating his statement in her head though. That guy had broken up his medicine study before he chose the teacher's path, so he knew what he was talking about; and he loved joking about physicians, though Quinn guessed it to be mere frustration that _he_ hadn't mastered to become one. Her eyes narrowed sharply as she started to wonder if Law was one of those sloppy doctors. _Maybe I should test him..._

Well, he was a one-night-stand of Judy, but at the moment she was aiming him to be her affair, meant there could be plenty of chances to do. If not, then she had to get ill again to talk to him... Not that she didn't like her work, she was really enjoying her time with the kids, but she had to say the one week pause at home had been enjoyable too.

Quinn remembered a favor she had to go after for Judy when she would be done here. Getting to the hospital to invite that guy for dinner as she herself had no time to do. Well, it had been a while since Judy found a potential affair (god it sounded so weird), and that she was really willing to cook for a man when she rarely cooked for herself; _that_ was remarkable to support as a good friend...

Keeping her stare into space, she slowly lifted her tea mug to sip the liquid. _Affair..._ So, that meant she would sleep with that guy more often, right? She had told that he was 'incredible', so Quinn implied that he was just like her roommate, pretty much experienced and slept around with lots of women. By his look, it wouldn't be hard to find one, and Judy was really good looking, it matched, so was she his type? Did he like brunettes? What if he was in a relationship, thus betraying his partner with Judy? She was a hoe but would _never_ support betraying. And-

"Quinn, where are you?!" Her coworker snapped his finger in front of her lost face and she startled, getting back from her absence to suddenly feel the hot tea running on her lap.

Suffering from the burn on her legs, the blonde jumped up. "Ouh shit...!"

Too much distracted in unnecessary thoughts...

* * *

Being at the hospital, which was 20 minutes away from her work, Quinn wasn't sure where to find the guy she was supposed to talk to, so she walked around the white-blueish corridors only with the hope that she would run into him. Those colors were those she would connect to sterility. A blue line, maybe a hand wide thick, drawn on head level along the white walls, skipping the big beige doors one by one and Quinn found herself in little joy to follow those with her eyes as she was passing them almost non-stop. The hospital had only three public floors, pretty ominous appearing when the corridors weren't occupied.

Losing her patience though after 15 minutes walk through that building, she decided to ask a staff at the reception. It wasn't even a big hospital, so what could he been doing to not sighting him at all? Perhaps, he wasn't even present today? Questions went through her mind that were rather stupid; of course, the chance was low to randomly run into him! The hospital was not big, but also not small. Rather medium size in a medium size city.

"Excuse me, uhm I'm looking for..." Well, what was his name again beside 'Law'? She only called him Doctor but never heard or read his last name anywhere. Narrowing her eyes to a pensive face at the nurse behind the counter, what got her quite unsure about the blonde woman's intention as she looked demonic, Quinn started to describe the searched person, mimicking his named features with her hands. "The young doctor with dark hair, sideburns, and goatee. And those satanic finger tattoos."

Laughing slightly to her description, the nurse said, "oh, you mean Dr. Trafalgar; what do you need?"

"I just need to talk to him for a moment," Quinn answered, leaning with her arms on the surface of the counter.

"About what exactly?"

She smiled a little to cease the suspense as the nurse sounded suddenly more serious. "Uh, private stuff, is that important?"

"Dr. Trafalgar had told us explicitly to not let any unnecessary meetups happen, so we want to know."

Surprised by that request of him, she wondered what ego he had to demand such. It was not like this to have been a small office but an actual hospital with more than just one doctor, and he was surely not the head. "Uhm sorry, I'm his patient and it's some short private talk. He had said I should ask for him here," Quinn then lied to the nurse innocently.

"Oh, then can you give me your name please?"

"Quinn Heady."

The nurse checked her info in the register and laughed a little after finding her patient report, telling her in small talk manner, "let me check where he is. I'm sorry, it's just that a lot of young girls go and look for him, so he told us to reject them when they ask if it's nothing in professional terms."

"Is that so?" The blonde woman asked rhetorically with a brow rose, wondering how many those were that he even had to ban them officially. Well, he was a young and handsome doctor, rarely to spot but a fantasy of many girls. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too mad when she intruded to pass him a quite _un_ professional message.

"Dr. Trafalgar's in the operating theater now, he'll be probably done in two to three hours. So either you wait here or come back later."

"Operating theater? Isn't he a general practitioner?" She asked with surprised eyes.

"Yeah, he works occasionally in that field too, but mainly is he specialized in surgery."

Wow, what funny coincidence had happened there, it was even better than she had thought. Not only that he had bedded her roommate two days after her first visit here, but that he also just had happened to be free to check on her. _Better not get into an accident or he sees you naked._

Quinn sighed to the time-consuming information, checking the clock behind the bar. "Well, then I'll be waiting here."

"Alright, we gonna inform him when he's out and send him to you, Miss Heady."

"Okay, thank you." Quinn walked into the smaller waiting room, away from the benches in the big hall as those were too occupied for her head. Loud coughing people in big quiet halls, which supported the volume, were just a challenge to bear, so she decided to settle down a little farther. Well, blue was actually her favorite color, but that much blue themed got on her nerves pretty fast though. The seats in the room were blue, the clock was blue, yeah even the fake flowers were blue. _What a workplace_ , she thought and leaned back with a sigh. She pulled out her students' drawings to grade them meanwhile, knowing that could be a long session of boredom.

 _If I'm not a good friend, then I don't know._

* * *

Walking to the waiting room, Law wondered what so private concerns the blonde had to go and look for him; even telling the nurse at the reception some nonsense. It's been a week since he had seen her face and to his memories, she had been on her best way to get back to health. That she would even dare to ask him for help after she had been giving him that big cheeky sarcastic 'good-bye' before he had left her apartment.

A little amused smirk overcame his lips by the thought before he got closer to his destination, where he walked in all casual with both his hands stuffed in the pockets of his long white coat. "Miss Heady, how can I help?"

Quinn looked over to the guy and saw Law's stoic face that she remembered from all his facial expressions the most. All in all was that the face she first had gotten to know him. However, she got up from her chair as he arrived in, greeting him with his name, "Dr. Trafalgar."

Eyeing her discreetly, he saw her be - like presumed - finally cured of her infect as an unusual look of hers confronted him. She wore underneath her thick open winter coat a button up denim shirt, only closed till the low side of her chest with a white shirt beneath covering her cleavage, stuck in dark pants that were for this time _not_ some joggers. He guessed it to be 4-inch heeled boots she was wearing, not that it wouldn't fit, but did elementary school teachers wear something like that to work?

It was clearly different how she looked today when he compared to how funny her appearances were the other three times he had seen her.

Standing in front of him, she smiled and to his observation, not in the most comfortable way. "I'm here to pass a message."

"Message?" He asked with a brow rose.

"Judy asked when you're free, she's inviting you home for dinner."

"Judy? Your friend?" Law then said in light but low surprise and Quinn nodded somewhat unpleasant about his slow recall of her friend's name, keeping her mouth corners upwards though.

"At your place?" Law then asked like it could be also a statement than a question.

The girl nodded again, claiming in conviction, "yeah, she doesn't look like it, but she's a really great cook. _Really_."

"I'm sorry, but I decline," was his flat response though with a disinterested look on his face.

Narrowing her eyes, Quinn made one step closer to him, talking from his side in a sonorous whisper, "listen Dr. Trafalgar-"

"If you're not here for medical purpose, you can call me 'Law'."

Her cheeks turned a light pink by his interruption and she looked to the side, feeling suddenly uncomfortable to keep eye contact. "Uh yeah... Law." In slow pace, her uncertain orbs moved back to him, and her side leaned slightly closer, bringing the word like it was a secret. "Well... Listen, for me, it's fine when you're not coming, buuut... my friend will fault me, so..."

"Therefore that you don't care, it's interesting to hear that you've been waiting two hours for me to get out."

She straightened back with a half-lidded and unamused facial visual. "Yeah, because as I said, she will annoy me if I'm not getting you to accept."

Not that Judy was that bitchy to actually _fault_ her for a possible rejection from his side, but she would _annoy_ her with her ironic and mocking allegations.

He smirked slyly, enjoying the tiny little pink on her cheeks. "And it hadn't annoyed you to wait two hours for me?"

"It did."

"Why's your friend not coming on her own?"

"Because Judy has long work hours in the office and on her days off, she rather spends it somewhere else than being on her way to a place to only pass a small question," the blonde girl explained with a big sigh, the tired sarcasm in her voice flippantly decorating every single word in her sentence. "So, please just say you'll come."

"I'm busy."

"I didn't even give you a day?" Quinn's brows furrowed skeptically.

Law looked over the hallway, giving just halfhearted his answer like he wanted to get away from that conversation soon, minding his own business. "I'm starting my night shift coming month, so there'll be no dinner time for me."

Not pleased by his ignorant way, she lifted herself a little on her toes to face him somewhat more on the same eye level. "Not even if you're planning one year in advance?"

He didn't hold eye contact with her though but fixed his lazy look elsewhere. "Yeah."

Stepping back again, she rested her hands on her hips. "And what about tomorrow?"

"Quinn, you shouldn't be here anyway."

"The nurse let me," she responded with a sudden saucy smile.

"Because you lied to them." - Something she better not let her students know.

"Yeah. Sooo... you come? Eight o'clock."

He sighed within his tired face and began to walk from the spot, talking to her with his back. "If I'm bored, maybe."

If he's bored? Appalled, her eyes were following him and she quietly whispered to herself, "what the hell..." Manners. He lacked those.

"And Quinn." He stopped and turned over a little, catching her proper attention. "Don't go look for me here again if it's nothing professional."

Leaving without a third look as she stood silent, he headed to the office. Law had one simple unwritten rule. He never made out with the same girl twice as that would be too much personal intimacy, which he wanted to avoid, and analyzing that brunette, he could definitely tell that she was aiming for a long-term 'business' by the way he had done her, making her eyes sparkle on cloud nine. Funny though that her blonde friend hadn't noticed anything as she was just the room next door. Or maybe she had but was just used to her moans.

However, if he's bored.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Yeah, Straw Hats kids~! Like that I could spare myself the effort to come up with random OC children, and you to read about them. Thought it would be important to build them in to show that she's really a teacher and not just an info in her CV lol._

 _Though I had struggled if I should split the crew in senior and junior grades as some of the Straw Hats were obviously older (Robim here), or just shit on that fact as it's pretty random anyway._

 _I'm also not sure if I should made them behaving like their canon younger age (like Luffy being a crybaby) or just take over their current personalities. Any opinion?_

 _Oh, and the elementary school teacher of my brother had worn high heels, baffled my eldest brother when he saw it, so just a random amusing memory that made me giving Quinn 4 inch heels haha._

 ** _P.S.: I've edited chapter 1 and first half of 2, added a few more little details to Quinn and her thoughts. Feel free to reread, if not, it's okay too and thanks for reading the story in general :)!_**


	6. Humorless dinner

**6\. Humorless dinner**

Quinn hadn't studied arts for nothing; she loved being an elementary school teacher, but sometimes she imagined what would be if she did anything more art related in profession. It was not unusual that she sometimes left her room, or even better, the building with paint on her fingers due to her passionate outliving of her hobby.

As introduced before, she was more the chaotic type of person compared to many other people. Her room was not big and she sacrificed her sleep space with a twin size bed as she needed no more anyway; different to her roommate, whose room was half bed. Beside a desk and her closet, was her place expanded to her own craft room with newspapers and canvas everywhere; left color palettes and brushes lying around. Her students loved to draw her pictures, and she once had them hung in her room as a collage before she noticed that to be a pretty bad idea when she messed around with colors. Except for the great map Nami had drawn her that was attached next to her bed, she put them all into a folder.

Wearing headphones and listening loud to music, while painting let her forget about the world. She occasionally hummed to it or even sang along, but rather when she was alone, or Judy about to get banged in the room across.

She was pretty much in her work right then as she glanced over the clock to see it already have been around eight. Taking off her head phones and stopping the music, she yawned and wiped her dirty hands off on the oversize button-up shirt she was wearing to prevent any paint on her.

Relaxed, she was walking out of her room, already smelling the dinner Judy had cooked and crap she loved it every time she was cooking. Too bad that it was a rare occasion, but hey, hearing her laughter...

"Oh wow, you did take the invitation, how come?" Quinn asked unimpressed and emotionally rather dead as she spotted Law at the dining table, while Judy was serving dinner.

With his arm casual hanging over the backrest, he turned his head around, giving her a dry, "I was bored."

"There you are Quinn, I thought you'll never get out to eat," Judy said.

The blonde went straight to the bathroom, telling easy-peasy that she would be right there. Disappeared behind the door then, her friend looked over to their guest and smiled with a twitching brow. "If you wonder why she looked like a three years old without pants doing finger painting, she _was_ painting."

"Without pants?" He asked with slight surprise in his rather stoic face.

Judy chuckled. "She wears hotpants underneath that shirt, ...hopefully."

Quinn had hung her dirty shirt in the bathroom. Walking out again with clean hands, though a little of white still stuck to her fingers, she sat down to the table, next to the brunette who had her seat in front of Law. Looking over to him and then to her friend, who had finished serving to finally settle down herself, she said, "uh, if you two need space, I can eat in my room as well."

"What are you saying, stay here. I don't think that will bother him in any way, right?" Judy looked for Law's eyes, waiting for him to confirm.

"I thought anyway it would be dinner with the whole house," he said with his flat expression.

If he was bored or not, Quinn couldn't tell, but she startled as his orbs shifted to her after noticing her eyeing that she herself hadn't been aware of. Moving her gaze to her food, she tried to ignore the weird interaction, focusing what's before her eyes.

It was a pasta dish Judy went for that evening. Tagliatelle, cooked with diverse fresh vegetables with a great spectrum of colors, from pepper to pak choi and fried pumpkin, dressed in a herbal sauce, creamy in consistence, refined with caramelized onions. Quinn herself was not the great chef, she would love to learn from her friend if that one wouldn't be such an anti-cook. And still, her dishes were always on point, letting the apartment smell like it to everyone's joy.

"I'm glad you had come, I was actually worried you decline the invitation," Judy told Law with a light laugh, placing her hand to her chest in relief.

It was so played, Quinn was rolling her eyes in her inner. She quirked a brow and mumbled, "it's not like he jumped for joy as I told- Ow!" Interrupted by Judy's kick against her leg, she turned to her in madness. "What?! You heard it yourself, he was _bored_."

"I was indeed bored," he confessed bluntly. "So I thought I come here for a little," he threw the brunette a calm and firm look into her eyes, "fun."

Smiling slyly by his hidden emphasis, she slowly shoved the tangled noodles to her mouth, hoping for the later aftermaths.

"Oh, if you want _fun_ , we can play a game," Quinn suggested, awarely ignoring the fact of not conservative intentions. "It's simple, but I need your help Dr. Trafalgar."

Without knowing anything she planned, Judy's mouth corners curled up to sarcasm, while she was staring at her plate as she at least knew her friend enough to anticipate any silly action of hers to demand information.

"It's simple, we first need five difficult scientific terms that are hard to speak, and as you're a _doctor_ , I thought it may be good to ask you directly instead of googling some," Quinn explained really casual.

Quietly amused, he was closing his eyes for a second with a hidden smirk. He then looked at the blonde with a sly and relaxed smile, asking, "and where should I wri-"

Like she had been preparing and waiting for it the whole time impatiently, Quinn put out a piece of paper and a pen with big innocent eyes, shifting it slow- and quite awkwardly to him without losing eye contact. He glanced down to it while his head remained in its straight posture. Law took the items then to his front as he looked back at her with a little challenging and curious smile.

Quinn carefully watched him jotting down the words, not too obtrusive but like a daily task. Her eyes drifted to the side and met Judy, who already had an unimpressed and tiny annoyed look on her face, while she was eating her dinner. The blue eyes then rushed back as Law shifted the paper with the pen on it, back to her; the slyness of his confident face staying. Looking down on the white piece, she read _six_ complicated scientific terms that were even too hard spelled to really _read_ them, thus she skipped them.

"I wrote down everything clear and distinct for you to read," he said, and she moved her eyes back to him, seeing a light smirk. "And now you can look up for them to check if I _did_ spell them correctly."

Her cheeks felt like they became a little pink as she lost her disguise, and Law turned back to his dinner, keeping the smirk. She straightened back slowly, stiffly sitting on her chair and pulled the items back to her under the desk with an awkward face of her bad masquerade in innocence. "Well... I guess we should consider eating than playing..."

"Oh Quinn, you can do your dictations with your brats," Judy said.

The young teacher gritted her teeth, shooting her with her gaze from the side and muttered, "you have no right to call them brats."

"But from your stories, they _are_."

"Hey, my students are adorable!" Quinn stated displeased. "I have this little boy named Sanji in my class, and he always brings me an apple to school; if that's not cute!"

"Oh, that's the reason you've stopped buying apples. You scrounge from your students," Judy said to what her friend narrowed her eyes irkly.

"I haven't stopped, I still buy them on the way as I don't see that boy every day."

"Huh?" Her friend snarked at her, not getting her point.

The smile on her lips grew enormous, have her saying, "an apple a daaay keeps the doctor awaaay."

Totally untouched by her joke, with the blue eyes shifting over to Law, Judy sank her lids and turned her face to the young man as well. "If you hate jokes, avoid that girl."

Quinn laughed, rolling her eyes. "Geez, at least I'm not laughing about other people's misery."

"Like you puked on him?"

"This is not funny anymore."

"If that idiom's so true such as your consumption of apples, I hope to find nothing of you in the hospital again, Miss Heady," Law said calmly.

"Don't worry Dr. Trafalgar, I gonna look for a little praxis in case of my next ill fall," Quinn responded lightly with a smile. Taking a deep breath and exhaled the pent-up air with a "phew", she bit her tongue and submit with some hand gesture to the two, "talking too much about me, how about _you,_ or _you_."

Judy put her fork and spoon down to turn her full attention to the guy in front of her. "Good idea. Law, what are your hobbies?"

He wasn't the type to talk much about himself and if he had a bad or lazy day, was not even a bad conscience holding him in rejecting and ignoring any question regarding his personal life coldly. But to their luck, today was not one of those days and he told them calmly, "I don't really have hobbies."

"Huh? How can someone be so plain?" Quinn snapped in, rather from the side as a semi-interested comment.

Plain? Maybe he was, that was true. Law was just not the person to spend much time in enjoying what the world was giving him. Even hanging out with his companions Shachi and Penguin, he was rather the calm type to be in attendance, but not much in action. But there were still things he had fun on performing. "If it has to be something I enjoy doing, I would say my job is pretty much my hobby."

"Being a doctor?" Judy raised her brows inquiring.

"Being a surgeon."

Her brown orbs changed lightly to uncertainty, such as her tone as she wanted to assure herself if she understood correctly what he meant. "So, you mean you like cutting people open, exploring their inner room and stitch them back close?"

"Correct."

Resting her chin in her palm, Quinn chewed in digest and swallowed her food slowly, before she commented in deadpan and the same slow pace, "wow, what a turn on for women."

He mimicked her posture with a smirk, holding firm eye contact. "I have no need to turn on any woman through my hobbies, Miss Heady."

Judy meanwhile shifted her eyes to the side in light embarrassment without anyone noticing though. As for her, it _did_ turn her on. _He_ turned her on. "One question." Law looked over to the brunette and she leaned interested and curious forward. "What if you develop a romantic, or well, _sexual_ relationship with a patient and happen to perform surgery on her? Isn't that kind of _weird_ , especially when you know whom of your coworkers also know her naked like you do?"

"For ethical reasons, there's a rule that doesn't allow anything beyond a professional relationship between doctors and their patients."

Her brows lifted in surprise. "So that means if _I_ , for example, go to you as a-"

"If a romantic relationship was present before, there shouldn't be any objection, but it's common for the partner to have another doctor. A developing afterward is to be avoided. Sexual interests meanwhile are better not to make before or after."

Quinn furrowed her brows a little as she was not really convinced of that ethical rule. "And what if the patients just transfer to another doctor?"

Law tilted his head a little, giving her a light smirk. "It depends from your region. Some even loses their doctor licenses for such. Many doctors think it's not permissible to date former patients, saying once a patient - always a patient, especially psychiatrists. If you would stop looking for my help, I refer a six month gap of no interaction as modest before you could start any relationship with me."

Hearing that, she blushed somewhat and narrowed her brows in annoyance. "I didn't plan to if you think."

"No need to get upset, Miss Heady, that was just an example," he said with tiny hints of mockery that got her right in the eye and made her keep the sore blush.

She lay her cheek into her palm, huffing as she was leaving the eye contact. "Who's controlling that anyway?"

"In our region, those are yet just unwritten guidelines and no one will spy on you. But for the local hospital, a suspension would be the result as for them it's the same with a teacher dating their students."

"Get it, get it," Quinn replied a little irked as she felt being made look stupid by his example involving a teacher. His mocking eyes left her again and she tightened hers to slits quietly, while continuing her meal, sending waves of challenging annoyance to him.

He was... another type of men. From all guys Judy had ever slept with, she interacted with him not the most, but different. He wasn't the nice guy she would pat the next morning when she realized how adorable he actually was; he was also not the guy that acted just modest like an adult that kept all casual as if nothing had happened; not the guy that flirted with her as well; not the big brother type; also not the type that cared for nothing; and also not the one that didn't like her. He was the mocking type, the blunt and cold type, the type without much saying, he was his own type.

Not moving her eyes from him and still analyzing his character, Quinn listened with one ear to the two's shallow conversation. Something about his work, something about her work, a little bit of sexual tension, a little bit of silence, some of Judy's hobbies. The base of a potential affair or wasn't that a date like in the movies?

"Yeah, I do try new recipes occasionally," Judy claimed with a warm smile.

Quinn's head turned to her mate in light confusion. "What? You nev- Ouh yeah, she's such a great cook!" Instantly, she corrected herself after the kick against her leg. "I mean, have you ever tasted something _so_ _delightful_? Did you know, her father's a star chef, so either it's in her genes or it comes from _how often_ she just cooks since her young age, taught by her father who's a - I repeat - _4-star_ chef! If that's not a woman, wow!"

Judy smiled awkwardly to her friend's exaggerated telling, kicking her leg a second time while laughing lightly with her eyes fixed to Law.

Not getting her overdoing at all though, especially in that bad acted amazed voice, Quinn continued with the interpretation of supposing to raise the game by her kick. "You know what Law? She _loves_ cooking, but what she loves even more is to cook for others! It's the most satisfying thing in her life!"

"Besides great sex," Judy remarked with a nod and eye smile, kicking her friend a third time but even harder.

The blonde kept her play though, forcing herself to look friendly and amazed. "And her dishes are always so creative, straight from her mind! Ow! There was no time I did not drool- ow, except for today but rather of manners than- ow, it being- ow ...bad. Aaaand she should have an own cookbook! Or course, or-"

As Quinn suddenly stopped and caused silence within the round, Judy continued to smile at Law, laughing everything awkwardly off in shyness.

"Judy. My tongue gets numb," Quinn said monotonously, dead serious while her speech impediment sounded through her talk, growing worse each second.

The brunette's eyes widened a little, still not left her guest, and she placed her fingers to her lips in weird shock. "Oh. I forgot you're allergic to pine nuts."

She let the moment sank, sighing in her mind exhausted. Seriously? Pine nuts? Unable to now move her tongue properly, muffling her talk to light incomprehensibility, she though kept her overplayed amazement and got up from her chair with a jerk. "Well, howevah! Uf ya wanna convince yashelf ahn uhnjoy a _dulight-hul_ dish mah, ya shall jump by mah ahften, bud nah tuh ahften, bud yeahh! Ah fuhn ah gonna uhdah some suhshe ahn ruhtuhrn toh mah ruhm!" _(Well, however! If you wanna convince yourself and enjoy a delightful dish more, you shall jump by more often, but not too often, but yeah! I think I gonna order some sushi and return to my room!)_

Quinn then disappeared in a quick tempo and awkwardly to her quarter, saying no further word to the two.

In the silence, Judy and Law met eyes and she snickered a little in guilt. "Any allergies of you I need to know...?

* * *

Sitting on the floor in front of her mirror, Quinn eyed her swollen tongue and lips annoyed, while her cheeks blushed lightly by another embarrassing moment in her doctor's attendance. And thereby was he her _doctor,_ what should make it not uncomfortable at all but even fortune in case of Judy had put anything else she was allergic to inside her dish, something more _life-threatening_.

With another sigh, she lay down on her bed and kept herself busy with her phone and some music, hoping that her mouth detumesced soon. Pine nuts were on the lower part of her allergy ranking and the symptoms to her luck, generally not long lasting.

* * *

"So Law... you're not the man to talk much about yourself, right?" Judy tried to turn back into a conversation, distracting from what had happened, even though she thought it to be hilarious.

Her guest anyway smiled slyly to her question, and he couldn't avoid looking for a brief second as she pushed her chest obtrusively on the table to reveal a great view into her decollete with full awareness. "I think there's no need in sharing personal information by what you're intending."

Noticing his glimpse to her chest, she chuckled softly, her brows raising by his statement then. "What I'm intending?"

"You're a great cook, I do have to admit."

"Is that an answer to w _hat I'm intending?_ " She asked then, keeping her eye contact with him tightly.

He closed this eyes with an amused smile, putting his cutlery aside as he had finished his plate neatly. "I thank for the dinner, but let me put something clear." He leaned his elbows on the surface as he shifted the empty plate aside, his fingers crossing into each, covering partly his curled lips.

Their eyes locked and Judy felt a strong need of sexual contact as his glare pierced her, her heart throbbing step by step.

"I don't make out with the same girl twice."

His straightforward answer, said so dry and heartless yet so gentle, she felt unsure what to say more after that clear statement. "Not?"

Slowly, she was getting up, walking around the table to approach him better. Both her hands slid from his chest over his shoulders, leading his front to her, and she lifted her leg, placing her knee on the free spot of his chair between his thighs, leaning closer over him.

A look between her legs could be made as one moved in that tight leather miniskirt she was wearing, red lace meeting his eyes. Red, an easy one that flattered any woman who put her cards on outward sex appeal. She was sure not as fit as her friend, but her flawless smooth skin, long legs, and a good D cup, were worth mentioning plusses and he sure could imagine to take her again.

"So, not twice?" She said in a light seductive tone, moving her face closer to his as her hands shifted up his neck, her leg pressing against him.

Fuck the rule.

"Oi people, wanna hear a joke?" Exclaiming across the open hallway, with her gaze in high amusement targeted to the screen of her phone, Quinn walked out of her room as her mouth turned as good as back to human.

Judy's eyes grew with a deep breath and she moved away from Law, back to her seat. _Great timing girl._

Fleet-footed, the blonde moved over to the two, hadn't left the screen of her phone once until she leaned with her forearms on the table across them, right between their seats. She lifted her face to look at both. "Wanna hear a joke about construction?"

"No," the brunette answered.

Quinn sighed with instant disappointment in her face. "Okay never mind... I'm still working on it anyway."

Was it total silence? Was it a cough? Was it a grasshopper?

Grinning from ear to ear, she suddenly laughed. "Did you get it?!"

Law and Judy exchanged short looks, and the brunette smiled unamused. "She loves puns."

"Oh oh, I have one more!" Quinn stepped back a little and gestured carefully with her hands for them to keep patience. She then looked to Law who only raised a brow to her long-lasting wide smile. "Why do orphans never play baseball?"

"This is her favorite," Judy stated snarkily and stacked the plates to get them to the sink. Really, she had heard it too often as that she would find it funny anymore.

"Because they don't know where home is."

Watching her with neutral gaze, laughing about such bad joke; he didn't know if he should comment on that. But well, he could presume that those types of jokes were her favorites by recalling their last meet at this place as she had been prissy about wording. "I wonder if you would bring that joke if any of your students would be one."

Rolling her eyes with a smile, she leaned against the desk again. "God you guys are so humorless."

"No, those are just bad, and bad in _timing_ ," the brunette said and walked back to the table, folding her arms as she took her seat.

"Sooorry, it's just that my students' brains are not developed enough to understand wordplays," she told and rubbed her neck with a somewhat sheepish smile, which was quite fake though. "But there's one they loved!"

" _Bad ti-miiiing,"_ Judy said slowly with pitched voice through her clenched teeth, eyes widening.

Throwing her look to the two in rotation and realizing the situation, Quinn paused with a deep breath. " _Ouh_...! Uhm, yeaaah... I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean-, well then, I'm getting back ...into my room," she said while she strolled backward, pointing with her thumb to her back until she stood close to her door. "...I mean the joke's ki-"

"No."

Hanging her shoulders, she disappeared quietly inside, letting the two on their own with headphones on her ears.

Judy smiled a little in excuse to Law, jiggling her head. "I'm sorry, she's sometimes like the little sister I never had."

Amused, he said with a lazy smirk, "you're pretty hard on your little sister."

"Yeah, someone sometimes needs to teach her," she responded with light rolling eyes.

Law tilted his head to the side with a short enjoyed gasp, having his light fist in front of his lips and actually not wanting to say what was on his mind. It was just not how he knew himself. But he couldn't resist. "And thereby is _she_ the teacher."


	7. A doctor's rule

_**A/N:** Feel like pre-announcing M in this chapter as the first lol! _

* * *

**7\. A doctor's rules**

Making out with the same girl was for one reason not in his interest. They were talking a lot, expecting a lot, sharing a lot, and he found it annoying. He had no wish that anything deeper could develop, he had slept with more than a handful of women, different sizes, different looks, different charm. And still, nothing but to cease his need. Maybe he was a heartbreaker, some funnily even called him Dr. Heartbreaker, but he always made sure to show or tell them _that_ what's going on between them was nothing more but pure lust.

He appreciated the female body, and he appreciated it more what it was giving him, it was simply a selfish ego-push and satisfaction to his own desire. Well, he sounded like an asshole, but he was sure convinced not to have been one.

Because he had a second rule: never made out with a woman for pure lust against her will. If they showed keen interest in him as a person from the very beginning, Law rejected them. Like said were now and then one among the women he had that kissed him awake in the morning if he wasn't out first, expecting some pillow talk, but that's when he drew the line.

He was anyway not the person to talk a lot, especially about himself. Life, work, hobbies, interests, he shared them sparely. Most of the time was he the person to stitch out the information from another with the three intentions:

Flirt to get her to bed.

Importance he needed for vary reasons.

As a doctor to treat his patient.

Anything else was in his disinterest. Of course, he would listen to his companions, especially if they asked for help, but else? Strangers? He didn't care what their hobbies were, their opinions, their lives, and the least their favorite color. Yes, women talked about a lot of random and pointless things and he had heard them all, especially after sex. That would refer back to rule number one.

Then there was rule number three which was pretty much a matter of fact and not necessarily to comment on. Never made out with your patients.

However, that woman that wanted him now, that was not in his medical responsibility and lying on her bed, seductively exposing her body in red lacy lingerie, that one was aiming for something more than a one-off. He already had her, he was supposed to leave after dinner, but he was kind of taken by her visuals.

And she was good.

Lying on the black sheeted bed, the curtains close but the lighting strong, Law could glimpse on every inch of her body. The smooth curves of fair bronze skin emphasized her femininity, her wide chest with a shameless puffed decollete he had tasted last time, she knelt in front of him and what she was presenting was just dirty. No innocence, no embarrassment, no shame, nothing sentimental. Just mere sexual lust the same as he felt. Judy ran her hand through her long brunette hair, flipping them to the side before she bent over his topless torso.

She shifted her long fingers gently over his abs, enjoying every hardness of his lean muscles with the dark ink on his body that tempted her to bury her nails along, feeling them until she stopped by his jaw and pressed her lips down to his'. He wrapped his hands to her curves, sliding his fingers underneath the thin fabric while their lips parted each other's and grew in pace, wild exchanges of their drive through their tongues.

Grabbing her, he changed to the top and pressed his thigh between her, moving his denim against the lace and let her hum with pleasure. She danced with his tongue while her hand was running back down to unzipped his pants. Unbuttoning the gear, he smirked slyly to her greed and moved his lips down to her neck, nipping on her skin and having him hearing a quiet moan already as he bit softly but sucked hard.

Her hand touched his bulge, running gently over the fabric and made him inhaling deeply. Grabbing her wrist to pull away, he parted her thighs and leaned closer to her, pressing himself against her and moved to hear her soft panting. Roughly were they dancing in a wild tempo as she looked at him with pleased eyes, the arousal showing soon on her face.

She bit her lower lip, telling him to take her right away.

Surprised by the prematurity, he quested again with a smirk and she nodded impatiently, spreading in anticipation. His hand moved down to her panties, feeling how soaked it already was and let him push it aside to embrace her fully. Running his middle finger then over, gently to her nub, he circled and smudged her moist to it, made her moaning lustfully.

She felt an intense heat as he uncovered a little what should dam the sensitivity, with his ring and index finger on each side while the middle caress it, letting her arousal and her joy out audibly. Law then entered her with two, pumping in and out with his thumb to her nub, watching with relish how her back arched as waves of pleasure were running through her body and wet her even more than satisfying. Her breast showed as he pulled the cup down, taking a mouthful and swirled his tongue around her nipple, pulling it from a suck. Baring the other one too, he licked over it, sucking that side as well while he kneaded the other.

She ran her hands through his hair, enjoying every second and made her desiring for more as his fingers became not enough. "Fuck me," Judy begged as her arousal got her to its limit, his fingers now dancing over her sensitive spot, rubbing her almost to her climax while he licked over her neck. "Law!"

He grabbed a handful of her hair, pulling her head back and moved his face closer to her with a devious smirk, speaking roughly, "how about _you_ are fucking _me_ this time?"

Grabbing her hips and pressed her closer to his body, he flipped around and pulled her with him to have her back on top, the smirk not faltering. Entirely blushed by his move, she slammed her lips back to him, kissing them in heated lust while her hands appreciated one more his surface. She stroked over him downside, feeling him intensely hardened to turn her on even more and made her pull back, embracing him with no hesitation and glided her hand over his warm skin.

Kissing the tip, she swirled the top with her tongue and catching any precum while her hands got him tightly within her palm, moving up and down. He gasped as she licked from the bottom up and coated him with her mouth, running slowly down when her tongue moved to it from the inside. She hummed as she did, enjoying his length which she caressed inside her in rhythm.

Law's breath stuck by her skillful treat and brushed her long hair to the side to glimpse on her doing, enjoying the picture of him disappearing in her repeatedly.

Taking him out again, she rubbed the whole with her hand fast, looking seductively into his face while her tongue remained outside and her saliva pulling a thread. Law clenched his teeth by the image and he grabbed her head and push her back, let her sucking him hard. Groaning deeply to the ceiling, he felt the warm flesh of her as she pushed him more until he made his way into her throat with no sign of her showing discomfort.

She pulled back again and panted heavily, straightened back on her knees and swayed her hips from side to side to take off her panties, tossing it to the ground. Pulling down his pants and boxers, Judy crawled over him and had him between her legs as she knelt down. She took him and pushed it shameless into herself as the desire was too much, made him groaning by the flesh he met on his pure skin.

Harshly, he forced her down by her shoulders and bit into her neck to let her cry out loud, spanking her ass and squeezed it tightly. "Never heard of protection?" He grunted deep, spanking her again to leave a red stain on her skin.

She gasped after her second cry, "I-I take the pill..."

He grabbed her other cheek too, pressing her roughly against him as deep as he could and she let out another cry. "Is the term _safer sex_ familiar to you?"

She flushed and buried her embarrassment that never happened before into his chest. "I-I'm sorry..."

Law flipped her back, hovering over her as he freed himself, husked with low voice into her ear, "don't make me lecturing you as a _doctor_."

Her heart throbbed and he reached out his arm to grab a condom from the night table next to them, clipped the plastic between his teeth right above her face to let her watch him ripping it with one hand open in lecturing manner. She almost fainted alone by his gaze, cold and dominant eyes piercing her.

Pulling the condom over without breaking the eye contact, he thrust into her without warning and made her scream. She moved her hands over his jaw, longing for a kiss only to get rejected, his cock ramming into her again as his hand squeezed her hip. He started to fuck her hard, earning cries and moans of pleasure and pain that caressed his ears.

Thrusting against her fast, he groaned out with deep voice along with her scream as she grabbed tightly onto the bed sheet. Slowing his moves, he repeatedly thrust into her with a rough jerk every few seconds as he watched in relish her reaction with her squinted eyes, her gasping and moaning with her breasts moving by every penetration. Law turned her back on himself and spanked her loud again, ordering her wordless to ride him. Judy moaned by his size, moving her hips the fastest she could to hear his pleasure as an utmost turn on for herself.

"I'm cumming Law! I'm-"

He grabbed her hips and thrust up several times to hear their flesh smacking on each other until she tightened his length inside and moaned out loud as her climax reached her, the waves of sensation getting her legs shaking. Falling satisfied to his body, she panted out loud to his ear, the sweat of them mixing up in another. He squeezed her cheeks and made her keep moving, telling her roughly, "we're not finished here."

Pushing herself up on her arms while keeping her heavy breathing, she continued her doing, twerking over him while having him inside of her. Her fast moves, dynamic in variation and pace got him almost, his body tensed by the arousal and made him holding his breath, feeling the suspense gathering downside in her warm moist flesh.

Again was she moaning his name, and he grabbed her inner thighs, rubbing her clit with his thumb, made her doing him faster. She repeated to call for him as her sensitive nub heated up, the sparkling pleasure between her thighs, turning her crazy in her fuck until he made her cum a second time and feeling the pulse inside her as they did to the same.

She fell back forwards onto him and he shifted his hand over her back, down to her ass. "That was amazing," she said within her panting while her legs were still trembling a little, taken by him.

Law looked down her body and back up to the ceiling. Yes, she was good. A long-term affair, throwing by often? It would spare the nights out with his companions to find any other woman quenching him. What bad could happen? She was just into sex as him, she wasn't aiming for deeper, so? Let's see.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Okay, a short smutty chapter between two whores. I've uploaded two in one go though as I find it weird to read almost only sex in a chapter, but it was just fitting haha~_

 _ **YukikoKitamura66** \- sorry for this here then xD But LawxQuinn is coming sooner or later tehe~_


	8. The somewhat different pillow talk

**8\. The somewhat different pillow talk**

He hadn't expected that he would ever break that rule, and now there he was, waking up in the bed of a stranger who wasn't that strange anymore; the February sky still dark around six in the morning, while a loud thunder noised the city. Law got up from the brunette's bed, who lay on her front completely naked, still sleeping and not minding any sound nature was making. Quietly, he was on the look for his clothes, shining with his phone through the room.

Finding his boxers and pants, he also could detect his t-shirt before he got out to visit the bathroom.

Now, it was the second time for him to wake up at that place, and he yawned barely hearable, washing his face in the small bathroom, gray tiles surrounding him, while he was still working on his return from the morning drowsiness. He wondered though how that could have happened as it surely didn't come from the girl's attractive appearance that made him stay a second time. Pretty women were not rare. Because she had left an impression on her skills previous time? Not wavering much, he guessed it to be some uncommon amusement he had the evening before that made him stay.

Usually, he was soon on his feet, getting out without exchanging many words; especially when it was about cuddling and pillow talk, what was just not in his interest. That he even had jumped by for dinner was a one-off. Well, amusement, skill and boredom, it was a mixture of all.

Right then, he had a light headache and massaged his temples, hoping it to disappear soon. He should leave right away like usual before any of the girl's would wake up, at least that should be executed as usual. It was normally the same when he left without big words, having them questioning him too much about where he was going, what was he going to do, and the most annoying one, _why_ was he going.

Leaving the bathroom again, he heard the sound of keys, hence someone entering the apartment. Around the corner, soaked to the bone, Quinn got inside, trembling, and left a big water track as she walked across the hall, throwing a jump rope in a corner.

"M-m-morning," she said as their eyes met and paused midways, staring behind her to see the mess she had made. Walking back to the door to get out her completely drenched running shoes, she sighed by the look of her gray socks that were now discolored almost to black. Putting out her baggy zip hoodie, also soaked wet, she carried it along. With her ponytail like coming right from a shower, she smiled shyly as her eyes noticed him watching her the whole time. "The rain t-took me b-b-by s-s-surprise," she told trembling; passing him kind of stiff, froze from head to toe.

"Outside six in the morning?" Law said and tilted his body around to see her walking into the room he just had left.

Looking down at the floor, seeing the puddles she had created, the young man walked up to the window in the living room, staring outside to check the heavy pouring. It was really raining cats and dogs. He turned back around as he heard her getting out of the bathroom with a big towel over her head which also covered most of her upper body.

She turned to him, smiling a little in ridicule to herself. "20 minutes ago, it w-wasn't raining like that."

"I'm surprised that you're out for morning fitness in the darkness of the winter," he said, eyeing her obviously up and down.

Seeing his eyeing, she felt instantly a slight embarrassment, discomfort by his cold gaze, and unable to interpret him in any way. In protest, she eyed him herself and felt awkward even more as she saw the ink on his skin, how they crawled up over his collarbones. She couldn't have seen those yesterday due to the turtleneck he had been wearing, and she felt _awkward,_ simply because she thought it made his look endless cool, quite badass. "Yeah, I'm rather a morning person."

Quinn then looked through the room, noticing the silence and the absence of her roommate to acknowledge that _she_ was now the host. "Uh, did you just wake up? Do you need something? Are you hungry, thirsty? Are you leaving? Do you need an umbrella when you leave?"

Law smirked lightly. "How attentive of you, but I guess I'm alright. Just a headache."

"Oh wait, I still got some painkillers," she told and turned to her room to get them for him.

What, an, ass. He hadn't wanted to, but how could he avoid a look at a girl that fit, turning her back to him in her running pants, which were lying on her skin tightly. Not too big and not too small, just right. Funny though for a somewhat shy girl to be okay with such clothing as long as it had some sports purpose.

Quinn got back with the medicine, and Law watched her walking up to the cupboard to get a glass that she filled with water, handing both. "There you go."

"Thanks, to what do I owe the honor to receive the sudden care?" Law said and took the glass and pills with a neutral look.

"I'm just trying to be a good host, courtesy and so on," she replied with her eyes rolling to the side, while she was returning a smile.

Raising a brow, he thought to should had expected it from a teacher, but it rather surprised him though, when he recalled her cockiness every time they had been interacting with each other. "So you're hosting all the guys your friend's bringing home like that?"

Her eyes grew in horror. "God no."

Quietly, he was watching her as she walked up to the kitchen, taking out some frozen berries, a banana, and orange juice to mix it all up to a smoothie.

"There are pretty much annoying and disgusting minded people too, so only those who I can get along with, or are nice to Judy."

Drinking the glass empty with the pill, he walked to the sink next to her, putting the glass inside. "So can I imply that you find me not annoying?"

"Well...," she said slowly and thought about it, turning her head to him then. " _Your_ annoying is another annoying, it's bearable."

He chuckled a little, drifting his eyes swiftly to the side. "Bearable..."

"And even if, you're my doctor now, I can't treat my _doctor_ bad, that calls for hell and eternal slavery."

Shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans, he turned around to lean casually against the kitchen counter with one foot to its tip as his legs crossed, observing her doing as she took out a big bottle, filling the smoothie inside, and some in an extra glass. "If that's already enough for hell and eternal slavery, then I wonder what the real bad guys receive."

"Eternal confrontation with their biggest fears _and_ eternal slavery," she said with an answer right in her repertory. Changing her eyes to a more pensive look all of a sudden, she hummed with her finger to her lips and then mumbled her train of thoughts, "what if slavery's their biggest fear...? Or their only fear? Would they get slaved twice so brutal? Or would they get another additional punishment? Hm..." Noticing his glare then, she looked to him with a blank face. "Uh, Smoothie?"

"Smoothie what?" He asked her back in mockery, referring to her meticulousness again.

Rolling her eyes with a twitching brow, she closed the bottle and said annoyed, "then not."

"Is that how a good host behave?"

The blonde took the glass and moved in a straight 90 degrees turn to him, with a grumpy and half-lidded face of annoyance, stepping closer to press the smoothie glass against his chest. "Here you go my guest," she said then with sarcasm.

Taking the glass, he smirked, amused with his usual lazy expression. Not that he wanted one, but he didn't mind either. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she responded a little miffed and turned back to the kitchen counter, dismantling the mixer to carry the piece parts to the sink, passing around him as he stood in the way.

"Talking about doctors, I remember to tell you that you haven't filled the history form for new patients last time."

Quinn looked back at him with arched lips and had a moment before she found a response. "Hm... I told you I won't come back."

"Everyone should be registered to their local hospital in case."

"We've another one an hour bus ride away," she said casually then as she declined the idea of him being superior to her. Also, the combination of him and the hospital reminded her every time of the little accident in the infirmary on the first day they had met.

"One hour?" Law raised a brow to query Quinn her own pretty stupid idea. He didn't felt much to her pride and threw the option right into the trash. "Call this week and make an appointment, we can note your history with a health check together."

"Health check? Do I have to?"

"Better."

She turned her face back to the sink with little annoyance and finished the cleanup. Putting the wet parts to the side to let it air dry, she sighed and gave the guy a weary look. "But I'm checking with another doctor, right?"

"Would you like?"

"Yes."

"Because?"

"You're annoying. And you're banging my friend." Her eyes moved to the side a little oblique as she said, "that's kinda... weird."

"If that's so, no," he answered flatly.

Quinn furrowed her brows a little irritated. "What? And why not?"

"The local hospital has three general practitioners who are constantly busy. If I'm not busy as a surgeon, I do have a handful of my own patients which includes you since the day I looked for you. It would be unnecessary stress to shift you around to someone else if it just this little comfort you're requesting."

"Huuuh? A patient should feel comfortable with their doctor!"

Law smirked a little. "I see no discomfort with you talking to me."

"This is something different, _Law_!" She replied. "And and and... you and Judy... and..."

"Don't be so picky with your doctors, Miss Heady," he responded and drank his glass of smoothie with carefree attitude. "You just had considered me as your doctor yourself."

"Oh, I gonna leave a bad review online!"

That little displeased emotion on her face was kind of amusing. She always managed to give him part entertained feels, and part annoyed feels with her little madness towards him. Well, it was rather an I-don't-give-a-fuck-about-what-you-want-so-stop-acting-like-that kind of feel. "Any born illness or disability you wanna tell me in advance?"

"Now?"

"You don't have to," he responded calmly. "Just curious."

Hesitating somewhat to tell, she barely held eye contact with him as she said, "valvular heart disease."

Interesting, Law hadn't expected that at all as he couldn't remember the last time he had listened to her heart rate, there to had been any indication to such a defect, and so his face showed a bit of surprise though flatness dominates it. "And you're still practicing sports and fitness intensively?"

"Naah, not that intensive anymore, but yeah, I feel better when I do," Quinn told with some cheekiness, knowing what she was doing was certainly not right.

"Mental- or physically?"

"Mentally...?" She confessed with shy discomfort. "I had to quit my sports studies because my body couldn't deal with the requested performance, so yeah. Most of the time it doesn't show any symptoms during normal days though, so there's no need for surgery, but I used to take medications."

Eyeing her calmly and trying to understand the carefree psychology in her attitude, he questioned, "when was the last time you've let it check?"

"I think... that was right after I quit college," Quinn answered with her finger to her lips. "So, over three years."

"Miss Heady. This is pretty careless of you," Law said in the same calm voice, though the attitude was more serious. "Heart defects are _always_ to care about."

She sheepishly shifted her eyes to the side, rubbing her neck in guilt. "I knooow, but up to now, I'm alright. Anyway, let's talk about this another time, it's so negative and- oh! You wanna hear the joke my students love?"

Law chuckled with a short gasp to the side about her bad distracting over to another topic. But well, he couldn't force her to talk about it. "Still wanna tell?"

"Yeah! I mean, it's kinda childish humor, but it's really cute!" She answered. "Okay, maybe you won't find it cute as you're super stoic, but I'm just telling you because _I_ find it cute and that my students love it every time I'm retelling it. Okay not every one of them, I got some grinches who are just like you, but they a-"

"Just tell."

"Okay," she said, already with a grin. "But don't expect too much, it's-"

"Quinn."

"Why do my students eat their homework?"

So much excitement in one person only because of a joke, how could he not mock that happy face? "I don't know."

"Because I told them it was a piece of cake."

Silently, she was staring at him, her lips pressed tightly together to avoid a laugh. Law twitched a brow and rolled his eyes away, taking his last gulp of his smoothie before he put the glass into the sink.

Then she laughed a little in defeat as he showed no precise reaction. "Okay, it was not _that_ funny, but it was also not that bad."

"Next time maybe."

"Ahh, you look like you're never really laughing about anything," Quinn said with skeptical brows, folding her arms. "Bet you never learned to laugh."

He was enjoying to had taken that smile away, how her mouth corners sank and were unconvinced about the happy nature of life. Like she had met dryness in person. He shoved both hands into his pockets and walked quietly away from the kitchen counter, leaving it uncommented.

"Where are you going?" Quinn asked with her eyes following him as his legs carried him back to Judy's room.

"Getting my stuff and head home."

Looking at the clock, it was already past 6.30AM and her eyes widened in shock. "Oh crap! I have to get ready to work as well!"

Walking into the room, he was looking for his turtleneck sweater, purse and keys by turning on the lamp on his phone again, creeping around the place.

Quinn leaned her head inside. "Uhm, if you need an umbrella, I can give-" She paused as she saw Judy still undressed on her bed sleeping, lowered her brows and got inside to pull the blanket over her nude back. Turning to Law, she whispered then, "couldn't you at least cover her?"

He found his sweater, pulling it over himself. "Quinn, I'm not there to care for her in the morning."

"I said, _at_ _least_. You're a doctor, you know catching a cold can happen in no time!" She complained quietly and pretty displeased.

Law turned around and straightened his collar, looking at the unhappy face. "This is not my problem."

"What? You're a doc-"

"I didn't become a doctor to help some random people, it's just a job," he explained calm and carefree. Then he gave her a slight lazy smirk, while shoving his purse into his back pocket.

Quinn narrowed her eyes, watching his calm attitude as he grabbed his keys and walked out. She followed him outside and closed the door behind with no more than a quiet clack. "There are three reasons why people become doctors. One is to help others, two is to make their parents proud, three is money!"

"So, and what do you think's my reason?"

Thinking back to his car, she said "money."

Law put on his shoes, keeping his relaxed expression. "As long as you're _my_ patient, you don't have to worry. You won't find a better doctor than me."

"God, how can someone be so arrogant?"

He opened the entrance door to get outside but remembering the weather, and that he had parked a little farther, the young man turned around with a sly smile. "Wanna give me an umbrella?"

The blonde's eyes didn't leave him as she walked slowly back to grab a transparent umbrella with blue and white dots, handing him it harshly. "There you go, my guest."

He raised a brow to that pattern, asking with a teasing smile, "oh, got anything less kitschy?"

"Take it or leave it."

He leaned down to her annoyed face, keeping his mockery and tone. "Alright, thanks for the nice treatment then, my host."

She blushed but didn't move away, keeping her annoyed attitude stubbornly. Law then walked off with the umbrella, leaving a casual "see you at your next appointment."


	9. Life with friends

**9\. Life with friends**

February was almost over and looking out of the window, you can tell that the weather was going to be at least a little better. Not that the trees were really dressed, no, they were still as naked as to the long winter that had started month ago, with the difference that the warm sun was lighting those.

Quinn was standing in the long hallway of her school, looking outside the window while the classes had lunch. She had no own class to look for, she was actually only an art teacher who was also allowed for PE lesson as the school lacked those.

However, the day had started quite nice. She had woken up early as always, she had her morning routine, she got punctual to work, and neither the kids nor her colleagues were really annoying. Concerning her mind about the most trivial things, she smiled and fogged up the window to draw some smileys on it. Sometimes she indeed felt like a child, but hey, she was just 23, thus still pretty young and not even in her mid-twenties. Hm... how old was Law by the way?

"Quinn!"

Hearing that familiar, trustful voice and the well-known clacking of some heels, the blonde head turned to the direction of the source. "Oh no. What happened? Who let you in? Or better say, who let you out?"

"Oh girl, don't act like I come from jail," Judy said as she walked up to her friend.

"It doesn't have to be jail but perhaps an asylum," Quinn remarked like a smart ass. "But for the kids, it'll be the same, I warned them about your demonic face."

The brunette's lids sank and she asked unimpressed, "you did what?"

"Just kidding," she responded with a little grin. Bringing the brunette and children together was in her fantasy rather an event to avoid from happening as Judy always talked so negative about them. Though, she was confused about her friend's sudden sojourn at her workplace. "Don't you have to be in the office?"

Judy sighed and folded her arms, leaning against the window. "My boss is ill, and when _he's_ not attendant, no one will notice that _I'm_ not attendant."

"What?! You're skipping work? Are you always doing that?!" Some shock washed over the blonde's face. It wasn't a tragic shocking face though but a rather confused one, as it would take somewhat for her being actually _shocked_ about anything Judy's doing. The last had been the morning she had seen her doctor unexpectedly at her place without intending anything professional.

Answering her flippantly, "yes, but it rarely happens, maybe once or twice in the year," Judy's eyes moved to the ceiling with a carefree and pretty bored face.

Quinn narrowed her eyes in mistrust and tilted her head a little away from her. "And you're here because...?"

"I need your help."

"Ouh, my help, my _heeelp_ ," she answered with big eyes as the sound of sarcastic surprise sneaked through her voice. "I love you, Judy, _really_ , but I can tell you right away that I'm out - and I do not mean out like I'm off trend."

"It's about Law," her friend told her without reacting to her response.

Placing her hand to her lips, she said in fake appall, "oh no, don't tell me he wants something deeper."

"Don't be stupid," Judy said with quirking brows on her arrogant face. "You know I had slept with him twice now, and you just have to see-"

"No thanks."

"He's one of a kind. The best in my list now."

Raising her brows, Quinn only gave off a slow and digesting "uuh huuuh..."

The brunette smiled sarcastically, spinning her hands over each in slow tempo as she explained, "but I don't have his number yet, and as you know do people need to _contact_ each other, to _see_ each other, in order to have _coitus_."

"W-w-wait, say that again."

"People need to con-"

"No, the last word."

"Coitus."

"This is new in your vocabulary, what happened?" Quinn looked at her, questing casually.

"Oh, I thought I'm paying you a visit in a building full of brats, thus I'll use something more modest," Judy told, but semi-interest before she moved on to her main concern. "However, you need to ask him for me."

"I need what?"

She smiled in a matter of fact, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, you've got your appointment next week, right? So, I thought-"

"No Judy, this time you go yourself. This is _your_ business."

"I work long hours, I can't!" She claimed in defense, furrowing her brows.

Resting her hands on her hips, Quinn leaned from the side closer to her with half-lidded eyes. "I happen to know that next week's march, hence his night shift starts, _hence_ you got plenty of opportunities. _Like even_ _to-day_."

Judy sighed out loud, looking at her friend. "Ok ok, you're right, but I can't just _ask_ him."

Narrowing her eyes again, the blonde studied her face more in detail. "Holy, don't tell me you are shy!"

"Oh geez, it's not like I'm actually _shy!_ Please spare me that nonsense," the brunette said, again with rolling eyes, staring down to her long nails. "I just don't wanna appear too pushy or clingy, maybe he'll think wrong of me when I'm asking, and _then_ he thinks _I_ want something deeper..."

"Yeah, I think he gets deep enough."

"What the fuck, Quinn?" Judy looked at her confused and also displeased for the joke in a moment that was serious to her.

Quinn looked awkwardly down, clasping her hands behind her back. "Oh, uhm, I'm sorry... it was just, you know- ...deeper, and you're swooning over him, and sex... so yeah, understand? Somethi-"

"I _did_ understand!"

Scratching her cheek with a wry smile, the blonde kept looking away from her sheepishly. She wasn't the type for dirty jokes, but she couldn't resist the wordplay. Trying to distract from her uncomfortable awkwardness, she looked back and told quite casual, "did you know the difference to coitus and sexual intercourse is that one ends with the sperm ejection while the other's just describing the primitive act of bonding two sexes? That's why the terms coitus condomus or coitus interruptus exist."

"What?"

She grinned sassy, tapping with her finger in the air. "I looked that up in case the topic 'sex' comes up when I'm talking to Trafalgar, so I prevent him from smart assing around. No mistakes are allowed."

"Quinn I'm serious. _I_ can't allow any mistakes. He's another, a new, a _better_ caliber; it'll be totally weird when I'm asking."

"Oh, yeah, sure...," the blonde then said, back to her sarcasm. "It'll be totally natural when I get in like: a-yo doctor, in case of flu, accident or any other complaints, may you give me your number please so I can call you directly and not the nurse at the hospital reception or any other I'm rather supposed to call."

"Quinn-"

"Oh, and I forgot to mention, it could be that my friend's calling you from time to time, asking you out etc. but this is just a side effect."

"Please Quinn. Do me the favor."

"I'm the shy person among us!" Quinn then stated annoyed as her last arm. "He's my freaking _doctor_! And yes, he _is_ good looking, so nope! I'm too shy."

"You did ask him last time as well."

"In _your_ name!"

A little boy's voice suddenly appeared from somewhere lower. "Miss Heady?"

"Ah Sanji, what are you doing here?" Quinn changed easily the topic as she saw the blonde little boy approaching her to her luck.

"At home, I tried this new recipe and I made you some," he said with a proud smile and held a small tupperware box up to her. "It's a little rice dish with different herbs and spices!" His eyes soon shifted over to Judy and his eyes grew in surprise about another pretty lady. "Oh, Miss! I can bring you some too tomorrow!"

"Ahh, this is so sweet of you Sanji! Ignore her, but thank you!" Quinn said and crouched down, taking the box with a big smile.

"No problem, Miss Heady! I always like to cook for you because you're beautiful," he replied with an innocent flirt attempt.

"Naaaw!" The young teacher died in cuteness. "Better go back to class and have your lunch or you'll miss it!"

"Alright, I will. I hope you'll like it, goodbye, Miss Heady and the other Miss!" Sanji then walked back to his class, the door not far from them.

Straightening back up, Quinn looked over to her friend in happy conviction. "Come one, that was adorable right?"

"Yeah, unexpectedly," she said with a brow rose while her eyes stayed with the door. "He'll be a womanizer when he's older."

"No! He'll be an adorable gentleman and cook!"

"Whatever, you'll do me the favor?"

Judy looked back to the blonde, seeing her disinterest as she distracted herself from the subject by eating from the box. The blonde gave her a blank look as she munched it quietly. "Hm?"

"Quinn!"

"This is really good! Wanna taste?" She said in carefree attitude after swallowing her bite. Getting shot by Judy's displeased face then, Fawn rolled her eyes and stick the fork into the rice, resting one hand on her waist while having the box in the other one. "You know what I don't like about that guy? He's super stoic, he's pretty blunt, and he's dryer than the paint I left on the floor for a month."

Judy narrowed her eyes, inquiring.

"Okay, it was just a week, but it's the same. Go and look for another guy, someone I better not connect with death or any bacteria inside my body when I see him."

"I told you, this is impossible! This guy's unique!"

"You know what else, Judy? _I_ am unique, _you_ are unique, _he's_ unique. What coincidence is that, that _all_ three of us are unique?" Quinn told slowly. "Oh easy! Because there are a lot of unique people in this world. _Everyone's_ unique, ...except for identical twins maybe."

"Oh Quinn, you're just saying that because you haven't slept with him."

"I'm sorry, I should be sent to hell..." Quinn mumbled.

"No, you can't understand anyway. You haven't had great sex before in your life, your ex was a -1000," Judy told her again in a tired and frustrated tone like nothing else could save her friend.

"Get to your point," that one requested straight and annoyed.

In a teaching manner, Judy then explained her calm and softly, "you can't understand an adult's problem, when you haven't been in their world yourself."

"What? I'm alright! I don't need to, to know the _unique_ sides of life!"

"You're so cute, I'm leaving then." Judy then turned away and walked off, leaving through the long corridor.

"Hey! Wait!" Quinn shouted after her as she made a step forward, slightly reaching out her hand. "Those are teenager problems! ...Life's more than just sex!"

Turning in defeat away as Judy walked around the corner with a silent hand wave, she startled by the awkward shocked and surprised look of her coworker, who just randomly came from the other side. Quinn smiled wryly and looked away from him, passing the guy soon while saying, "sorry... coitus, I mean coitus..."

* * *

Getting from work, Law had a few options given where he would go next. His usual choices consisted of his place or the place of his two companions. Well, he rather chose to head home, cooling down from the whole social network, sleeping; but there were days when he made his way to the two due to their request when he found free time without weariness.

The two were living together in a small studio apartment, sleeping on bunk beds like they had to. Many times had he offered them help to find a new and bigger place, perhaps both living apart from each other, but two proud best friends who were okay with their standard were not to rip apart.

Because the room tended to be somewhat stuffy, they often left the entrance door open to let the fresh air in as on the other side was the loud street that they didn't want to get any louder by opening the window. Entering their apartment with the two sitting on the thick red carpet in front of the TV, playing some video games, Law almost had stopped with scanning that messy place. He was used to it.

"Oi Law!" Shachi greeted him while his eyes never left the flatscreen. The two rather spent their money on expensive technology, not even to impressed but genuinely enjoy the devices.

Penguin looked over to the young man with a smile, telling him casually, "our neighbor had said, he'll set the local hospital on fire because you guys are too expensive."

Expensive? Those were the standards if he didn't have a health insurance, why should he care? Walked inside with both hands stuffed into his pockets, he took out a glass from the cupboard, eyeing the inside swiftly for any dirt. "Don't you wanna clean up already?" Law asked then while he opened the fridge to look for something to drink.

"If he does, what would you do?" Penguin ignored his question as that conversation was clearly on repeat. He asked; they said they were too lazy; Shachi affirmed 'next time'; and Law twitched a brow in disbelief while doing his thing.

The young doctor looked into a messy fridge with food from two weeks. He quirked his right upper lip a little in disgust, pulling the plastic box out to throw it into the trash can next to him. "Looking for a new workplace," he answered relaxed though, grabbing a bottle with some alcohol and sniffed on it to check the content. The only provided drink he could give himself that moment, so he filled his glass with it.

"Don't you wanna beat him up?"

Shachi grinned a bit, still with his face ahead. "Penguin's just asking because he had settled a fight last time and lost."

"What? I didn't! I let him win!" His mate claimed in defense, looking displeased to him about his assertion.

Calmly, while sipping his drink, Law said, "don't tell me that's the reason you couldn't come last time."

"Hey, but I heard you and Shachi had captured a lot of booooty." Penguin turned over to Law with a curious look, sitting in tailor fashion. "He has a girlfriend now!"

"I never said she's my girlfriend, it's more like an _affair_."

"What was her name? Shayla? Shannon? Shacky?"

"You're just jealous, geez," Shachi stated, pushing his friend a little annoyed with one hand while he was still in game. "Oi Cap, what about the brunette that night?"

"I heard she was hot!" Penguin said with a little hype.

Grinning ear to ear to his friend, Shachi said in the same little excitement, "she doesn't happen to have a sister, right?"

A sister? Well, she got a friend who was at least equal to her. Didn't one of them had a thing for blondes? Looking from his sunken face to the TV, Law asked, "what are you guys playing there anyway?"

"Oh, this is a pirate game! It's really fun!" Penguin told with a joyful smile. "You have to build a ship, decide a scheme, and then travel around to build up a crew!"

Law eyed the game, seeing a yellow submarine, animated with a quite good graphic. Despite that he was a non-swimmer, he probably would have chosen one as well instead of a normal ship. Perhaps a hybrid?

"Yeah, we made a submarine!" Shachi flaunted what they had created, spinning the animated vessel to display every corner of it. "And we call us the Heart Pirates because of your tattoos etc."

"Shachi said it to be gay, but I'm-"

"I did _not_ say that!" He claimed and turned to his mate next to him.

"Of course, you said we should come up with-"

Teeth gritting, the redhead looked annoyed back to the screen. "Gosh, you're just jealous that you got no girl!"

"Oh, is that a challenge?!" Penguin quested then, leaning challenging a little forward with folded arms. His mate glanced back to him, and he added, "okay, tonight in the bar! Who'll flirt with the hotter chick!"

"Everyone can _flirt_ , but can you do more?!" Shachi replied, still in his annoyance as both stared at each other so close, almost face to face touching. "Oi Cap! You're with us?!"

"I'm out."

The two turned simultaneously to Law with surprise. "Whaaat? Why?"

"I have better to do," the doctor told them flat and easily. His glass meanwhile was already emptied and to do them the favor of sparing any more to clean, Law cleaned it himself.

"Don't be a grinch! Come one!" Penguin said frustrated. "Last time I hadn't the chance!"

Grinch? That must be the second time someone called him like that. "No, I said I'm out."

"Did you just smile?"

"Shit! What happened to you Law?!" The redhead's eyes grew in big surprise just as those of his friend. It was just a freaking tiny curling motion, but for them, they rarely saw him smiling so randomly.

"Don't say, Shachi _and_ you got a girl now!"

"Don't talk nonsense," Law responded then in his classic lazy expression. The 'smile' hadn't lasted longer than a second, though _he_ couldn't remember to actually had smiled. He shoved his hands back into his pockets and walked out the apartment again. "I see you two are busy, I'm heading home then."

Shachi looked after him. "Oi wait! Cap!"

Seeing him then gone so quick without hesitation, both only staring at the dark veranda, Penguin sighed with sluggish shoulders. "Ouh man, I wanted him to beat up that bastard next door..."

* * *

 **miki** \- thank you very much! It's totally okay, I'm happy about every review :)


	10. Examination day

**10\. Examination day**

The first week of March, the first week of his night shift, and Law stared already tired on the timetable, checking his appointments. Punctual at eight o'clock, right when his shift would start; Quinn Heady should be in the examination room, and he wasn't sure if he had the nerves for her bubbliness right then. The sudden time switch was still on the need of getting used to, so he was still tired and leaned out of the window with his coffee mug, his face freezing by the evening's temperature. The sun had disappeared already something around six or seven, he wouldn't see it soon the fellow hours.

"Trafalgar, I'm leaving then," his female coworker said, and he turned around, staring at her as she stood at the doorway. "Please take care of Quinn, don't be so cold on her."

"You're the reason why she's even on my list, so no right to demand anything," he replied with no hint of care, calm and cold in tone. Law was known among his colleagues to be the uncompassionate and blunt type, thus they 'hated' him to lead a patient consultation.

She rolled her eyes with a smile. "Trafalgar."

"Dr. Dillan." He smirked sassily.

Though he was a person rather hard to reach, the woman knew him to be not as bad as many other people in the hospital claimed. The young man was just a calm person with a rough childhood, someone to not deserve any bad judgment. "Goodbye Trafalgar," she said and left.

Still relaxing a little at the window for a while, he finished his coffee and emptied a small water bottle in one go. It was then after eight and he left the staff room.

* * *

Quinn sat on the examination table, dangling her legs while humming a song quietly. She startled a little as Law got in, torning her right out of her absence. "Good evening Dr. Trafalgar," was her greet with a neutral and calm face.

"Miss Heady," he greeted her back. Giant and well known was the pompom on the wool beanie she pulled off, falling instantly into his eyes so that he couldn't avoid his mind to find rather amusement by the silly look; though his face expressed it not a bit.

But Quinn noticed at least his gaze and touched the ball, asking "are you staring at my pompom?"

"It's very obtrusive, so yeah," he responded casually as he walked inside and stopped in wide range in front of her.

"This is my favorite beanie, I even gave it a name." Seeing his light eyebrow twitch, she grinned. "Just kidding."

Well, he found the beanie matching her character, but the name thing would have been too much.

Quinn supported her body on her arms as she leaned a little back. "You know what? I have thought about the three-reason-rule of people becoming doctors."

Law's brow rose and he looked at her with both his hands relaxing in the pockets of his coat. That she really had taken the time to think about something so trivial.

"Of course you can couple those rules with each other, _or_ you make it a triple combo," the blonde said with her index finger to the air.

"Like you become a doctor for all three reasons?" He replied flatly like an obvious fact.

"Deeper," she claimed and shook her head, straightening back. "What if... your parents were targeting money from the _very_ beginning, keep telling you how proud they were what good person you are, _only_ to make you thinking about becoming an even _better_ person by becoming a _doctor_ to make your parents even prouder."

"And the money aspect?" He found himself questioning.

"It happens that you find out that your parents were lusting over the _money_ , but you're okay with that because in _that_ moment, it was the realization that you never _not_ made your parents proud, but you made them even prouder by accepting their mistake for playing such psychological game with you! They'll tell you that they have the best child ever because you're so forgiving, _and_ you're thinking that you're regretting _nothing_ because they still had helped you to find out about yourself that you were _born_ to be a doctor!"

Silently, he was staring at her, looking into her convinced face that didn't smile a bit to show her seriousness about the theory.

"In the end, you keep that job for making your parents proud, making lots of money, _and_ for helping others."

"Miss Heady, let's start with the history form," he ignored her conclusion and sat down on his stool, taking the questionnaire and a pen that was attached on a board.

"Oh I knew it would be too complicated to be true," Quinn said, snickering.

Bubbly as always.

Law began to interview her, holding the pen ready to note her answers. "You're 23, right?"

"Yeah." Eyeing the guy then as he jotted it down, she felt a little unsure but did ask him carefully due to some curiosity, "how old are _you_ by the way...?"

"25," was his straight answer, showing no hesitation.

"Oh! Judy's 25 too and- god are you a young doctor!"

"Birthday?"

"December 14th." Again, she was curious and asked in prior manner, this time with small careful questioning eyes. "And yours...?"

"I think that's a less important information," he told her.

"But I wanna know when you turn 26." Quinn's eyes moved pensively from the side to the ceiling. "This sounds less... young." Noticing that she was talking crap, they immediately darted back to him, meeting his stoic face while she was trying to get out of her stupid statement. "Not that you look old! Not at all! I mean- also not that you've got a babyface! It's just-"

"6th October," Law interrupted her as she had started to turn into nonsense. He continued with the questions though, not letting her make any comment about personal information he was sharing. "Height and weight."

"5'7" and 55kg." Curiosity about his height was also latent but his dry manner intimidated her somewhat to ask him any further personal question; though Quinn guessed it to be at least 6'1". The birthday thing wasn't left uncommented though. "Woah, you're not even a full month older than Judy. Her birthday's on the 1st of November."

"When was your last health check?"

"Three years ago I guess."

"You said you have a valvular heart defect and used to take medications. Can you recall the name? And how long have you been taking those and how often?"

Quinn placed her curved finger to her lips, trying to grasp the memory. "Hm..., when I was twenty for a whole year, one every morning. But I forgot the name, sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry, drug names are hard to remember and write anyway."

In a switch, the two suddenly exchanged deep eye contact, and she recognized his little mock about her previous test on him at their dinner when she had checked on his knowledge of scientific medical terms or drug names. Well, she wasn't quite sure if she welcomed it as she indeed preferred his mockery to his emotional dead side. Trying to accommodate his - still - neutral look, she forced herself not to pull a wry smile and answered calmly, "yes, they are..."

He was amused that she understood his little tease, and even more about her try to hold back. "Did your previous doctor tell you more about the defect?"

"Uh, not really but I'd heard it was probably because of my mother." Pausing her sentence, Quinn made a fist with her thumb and pinky finger pointed out, mimicking a person drinking from a bottle before she continued as it was self-explaining, "during the first few weeks of her pregnancy."

Law was a little surprised about the information. The first months of pregnancy were the most influential period, which had caused in many cases lots of vital damage to a child due to irresponsible maternal behavior. Quinn had great luck. Well, a valvular heart defect could happen out of nowhere, though rather more when people were getting older; but hearing that story meant that she _had_ chances to grow as a person without organ complaints. It was not really compassion that he felt, rather pity for her and her mother. "Has she done anything else that might have left other disabilities?"

"Do I look like that?" She countered with half-lidded eyes.

"I'm obliged to ask, Miss Heady. Your personal information is safe with us."

Quinn pursed her lips as she thought about it, tilting her head a little to her shoulder. "Weeell, she used to do drugs before me, but I don't think during her pregnancy. So, nope, I'm clean."

Drinking and doing drugs. He was not the kind to judge a person, besides that he didn't care about anyone anyway, but though, he was assuming soon in what kind of social circle her mother had been or still was, and he found himself wondering how the blonde got away from that scene. "Are _you_ drinking, smoking or doing drugs?"

"Nope."

"Another allergy besides pine nuts?"

 _Now_ she pulled a wry smile as her eyes switched to light surprise. "Wow, you remember that."

"I wish I could delete memories on command," Law responded, still flatly.

Even when he was actually joking, he either smirked cocky or had dipped his face into liquid nitrogen so that she couldn't be sure how much of fun she could use when she was having a conversation with him. "In case the apology basket's magic had worked, I can give you another one."

"I still remember you puked on me. Please answer my question."

"Ouh maaan... can't you just at least act like you forgot?" the blonde asked with furrowed brows. "Tree nuts and peanuts." Remembering a life event then, she smiled a little and told him amused, "peanuts are the worst, I almost died as a child when I tried a PB&J."

He was jotting the facts down while answering her question. "That would make you happy? Acting in front of you?"

"Yes. Okay no... ah, whatever, you must be used to puking patients."

Law chuckled quietly with a small smirk as his eyes were still focusing the paper. "Actually you're the first to had puked _on_ me."

"And if you don't keep quiet, I'm ready to do a second time," she said with her lids sunken again, displeased that this topic would probably follow her forever.

Right, it was not the time to joke around. "Past surgeries?"

"None."

"Medical health issues within your family?"

"Uhh, I don't know, sorry."

"Aunts, uncles, cousins?"

"I had a dog with cancer," Quinn replied in deadpan. He reacted unamused. "Just kidding. I was never allowed to have pets, dogs are too expensive anyway. Oh! But I like those mini poodles that look like teddy bears! If I could-"

"Miss Heady," he cut her off again as she was about to exaggerate with her telling pace one more.

She sealed her lips in guilt. "I-I'm sorry..." It was a bad habit; she hated it on herself as well but was pretty bad in controlling it. As Judy tended to do the same about lots of things that were not in _her_ interest, she wouldn't take anyone amiss of not listening or stopping her too, since she did the same to her friend.

"Alright, the second part contains your sexual history."

Okay, it was an uncomfortable topic, but she was somewhat prepared for that. Trying to sound only a little discomforted and skeptical in her forced relaxation, Quinn said, "you don't really talk about," - _say coitus, say coitus, coitus!_ \- "making love." - _NO! SHIT!_

Law raised a brow to her childish and innocent wording. "Yeah, Miss Heady, I'm talking about... making love," he answered while he held back the slight entertainment he felt.

She looked at him determined with a hint of rosy cheeks, trying to justify her word choice in a straight posture, her hands clenched to fists on her lap. "There's nothing wrong by using that expression! Two people loving each other and, uhh...yeah... deepen their love...?"

Now he snickered his merriment out, his face and eyes tilting to the side. Quinn was still remaining in her determination, but felt even more embarrassed as she saw him really _laughing,_ though quiet and discreet, but then probably _about_ her. "This is pretty unprofessional of you, Doctor."

He looked back and tried to cease his smile. "You're right, I'm sorry. Were you the last three months sexual active?"

"No."

His attitude changed back to more stoic at a flick of the switch. "Within the last 12 months?"

"No..."

"When was your last sexual intercourse?"

Okay, she was prepared of those questions but still, the young woman felt weird to answer them, especially _him_. "Do I have to answer?"

"Yeah."

She looked to the side. "I don't know... I forgot..."

"You forgot?" Law repeated queryingly, pretty much in disbelief.

Seeing his inquiring face and felt pushed, she gave in and answered shyly, "about three years ago?" God, she hated it to be shy as she was actually not _that_ much of a shy person unless the topic contained _her_ private sex and love life.

"With which gender?"

"This is three years ago!" Quinn stated as she refused to go any more in detail. But again, he was giving her that calm and inquiring face, which actually looked all the same, but it was the vibe that he sent her. That guy had pretty much a talent to push others to answer by doing literally nothing but waiting and gazing. Quinn narrowed her eyes like she would minimize her visual focus. "Will you believe me when I say I'm lesbian?."

"I will."

In confusion, she lifted a brow. "Seriously? Can I ask why?"

"I see no reason for you to lie to me."

"I'm lesbian."

"You're not."

"What?"

Law sighed and changed his posture on his stool by straightening his back a little, crossing his legs while he was answering halfhearted and tiredly, "too many indications for you being straight." Well, he had wondered if he got the nerve to deal with that bubbliness then, and indeed he got some, but _some_ didn't mean for anything she was saying. He confessed, it _was_ sometimes cute and especially entertaining when she babbled much, but the pace was also sometimes unnecessarily back-breaking.

"Listen, doctor, this is pretty gender generalizing." Only his silent glare was fixing her again, waiting for her to stop fooling around. Quinn sighed out in defeat. "Fine, I'm straight out straight."

"I was just kidding with you, Miss Heady," he told, but crossed 'male'.

The blue eyes stayed small and she sank her mouth corners by his alleged joke. "You need to work on your way to express humor."

"Any known or previous sexually transmitted infections?"

"I know you're a doctor and ask as a matter of fact, but can you please be at least a _bit_ sensitive and not like a robot? But nothing of the sort."

Law's lips curled to a slight smile. His 'robot mode' was actually just his 'doctor mode', executed straight and unaffected as his job. She was looking at him, unimpressed by his way to communicate, and he began to smirk slyly at her, deciding to confront her as she wished. "I'm sorry, miss Heady. This is more explicit, but I'm asking all my adult patients regardless gender, age or marital status. What kind of sexual contact have you had in the past and did you use protection? Just to be sure you are excluded from any STI's."

"Oh god no, please be a robot again..." Quinn responded right away as she saw his smirk in connection with the question that embarrassed her the most since it was a very intimate one. "I can assure you I'm safe, please move on!"

"Miss Heady, I need an answer."

Though he was saying it somewhat frigid, she felt mocked by him as his hidden amusement returned. "My last time's _three_ years back, you see I'm still alright."

"Kind, protection, how many partners."

 _What the hell!_ Pulling herself together, she tried to answer bluntly, "like a normal person, condoms, one partner. I'm safe. Move on."

"Now I have to ask you what you define by _normal."_

"God you know what I mean! Normal like..." She gritted her teeth and inhaled through them, trying to find a suiting explanation. "Man and woman try-to-have-a-child-style."

"I think you can't generalize the way of people having sexual intercourse. It would be discriminating to exclude people outside from vaginal penetration as less normal as-"

"It's okay, I'm sorry for discriminating you, move on sir," she replied a little annoyed.

Law then closed the ballpoint, putting it and the board back on the desk. "Well, that was the last question."

Relieved by it, Quinn applauded subtly and sarcastically.

"I need you to free your chest area now," Law said then and pointed to the buttons of her shirt, which she closed up to the last. She unbuttoned the first few so that a small gap revealed a little of her collarbones. As it was almost unnecessary small to reveal almost nothing, he asked tiredly, "can't you just take it off?"

"I wear nothing underneath, sorry."

Law sighed and put on the stethoscope. "You make everything harder for your fellow people."

Quinn sank her eyelids annoyed. "I'm teaching our future, so please ho- ahh cold!"

He stopped calmly as she jerked back the moment he had set on the resonator that caused instant goosebumps on her skin. "I'm sorry. It must got cooled when I was standing at the open window for a while."

She rubbed the spot with her fingers, furrowing her brows to displeasure. "Ahh, it hurts, it's super cold."

Observing her complaints, he then breathed on the device to warm it up, losing no eye contact with her. Quinn felt awkward with it, and she looked embarrassed to the side. "I-it's okay! You don't have to...!"

"Just for your _comfort_ , Miss Heady." He then placed the resonator back, which was still cold but not as bad as before. He noticed her mood through her heart rate, breathing, and her pink cheeks. "You don't have to be embarrassed."

Quinn took a deep breath and remained silent, calming herself from the roar inside of her. Sitting quietly, she looked up at the guy and eyed his current visual as he stared concentrated into space to hear her beating organ. His gray orbs looked so cold in expression like nothing matters in his world, but she couldn't deny that he looked somewhat... attractive. _Ouh shut your mind...!_

His eyes shifted back to hers, and Quinn startled as it took her by surprise, since she was deepened in her staring. "Turn around and free your back."

"How should I free my back?" She replied confused and not in friendly terms with the idea. "It's not like it's with me against my will."

Ignoring her joke again, he told her, "you just need to pull your shirt the first half down, I need to listen to your heart and lungs."

Turning around then, she unbuttoned her shirt more and swiftly looked over her shoulder. "But don't walk up front without warning!"

"Miss Heady."

"I-I'm just saying, I wear nothing underneath!"

"Just hurry up."

"Just saying!"

Law rolled his eyes a little, watching then how she let the fabric down. "Lower."

Quinn looked miffed ahead and lowered the shirt more until it was just above the strap of her bra. She startled again as Law brushed her medium length hair to the front to give him workspace. Did doctors just touch their patients like that? They knew each other but were sure not _that_ close...

"Take deep breaths," he said as he set on the resonator. So she did and Law listened quietly to her body inner, staring concentrated into space. Putting the stethoscope away, she covered her body again, closing the buttons while he was telling her, "I'm not sure about your valvular heart disease as your heart appeared like to work irregularly. So, sometimes it does right and sometimes not."

"Yeah, that's what I meant by occasionally and periods," she remarked and turned back to him as she finished the buttons.

"You could leave the buttons open, I would like to make an echocardiography."

"Now?" She said a little unsettled.

"Yeah."

"You wanna hear a joke?"

He raised a brow about the random question; and noticing his puzzling face, Quinn smiled and laugh a little. "I'm sorry, you're just so dry and salty, almost like Umeboshi, so I just wanted to... sweet everything up."

"Please don't compare me with Umeboshi. Ever."

"Ah, my student had brought me an Onigiri with some today, that's why-" She stopped as she saw his kind of disgusted face, and her eyes grew in surprise. "Don't you like Umeboshi?"

"Yeah," he answered flatly and turned on the computer.

Quinn covered her mouth with her fingers and a light smile. "Oh my god, Judy hates them too!"

"Please unbutton your shirt again and lay down on your left side."

She then did, but kept talking. "Don't you guys wanna date? It would be sure a matching thing, like a male slut and a female slut, found each other due to their slutting."

"Miss Heady, lower."

"Unless you're an arse and got a secret girlfriend we know nothing about."

"Miss Heady."

"But you don't look like the guy to have a girlfriend, even though that bobblehead bear in your car's somewhat unmasculine. But I find it cute!"

He sighed as she kept babbling, hence he shifted himself on his stool to her, pulling her shirt lower.

"What are you doing?!" Quinn shouted and pulled her shirt back up as he had revealed a big part of her cleavage, half of her bra showing.

"I told you, I need you to make that free."

Her cheeks tinted a little red, and she furrowed her brows in displeased confusion. "But that low?"

"Yeah."

"I want another doctor..."

"Miss Heady, you're not the first woman I see in her undergarment."

Quinn pouted her lips, mumbling, "outside or during your work?"

He chuckled a little to that fair question. "Now, do as I said."

"Geez, couldn't you tell me before?" She grumbled. Holding intense eye contact with him, she slowly grabbed her shirt and moved it down as slow and unsure as she could. Maybe he was a doctor, but revealing herself in front of any straight male, and then close to her age was and would be still embarrassing. Yeah, even when he was used to the sight of female breasts.

Waiting for her to be done, he inhaled deeply as her pace was in time loop, thus he sighed out annoyed and slid his thumbs under the fabric of her collar. He grabbed her shirt himself and shifted it down over her shoulders, while his cold gaze stayed with her, something between pink and red growing on her face. "I'm sorry, you were too slow."

"Today I got examined from Dr. Trafalgar, who on the first glance seemed to be a professional person. Result was sexual harassment by stripping his patients. Don't ever visit that hospital, or at least decline _his_ help."

Law chuckled again, shifting himself back to the monitor.

Quinn closed her eyes, talking to herself, "I just imagine you to be a female doctor."

"Go ahead."

"...with an extreme low voice."

Before he placed anything to her chest, Law eyed the awkward girl. He had expected her to be someone to wear more plain undergarment, so lacy was out of his expectations. Women were weird as they paid much for fancy underwear that nobody was supposed to see anyway.

"God, why are you eyeing me like that?" Quinn complained as her eyes opened again. "Don't make me call you Dr. Pervert."

"I'm actually waiting for you lowering the shirt till your waist."

Blushing hard, she immediately covered her chest again. "Nooo! Have you ever heard yourself speaking?! Being a good doctor also means being social-intelligent! Unprofessional! Unprofessional! Unprofessional!"

Law smirked a little about her embarrassment, how her face heated completely up. "Miss Heady, please free your upper torso now. There are other patients waiting for me."

"No, I don't want anymore."

"Miss Heady."

"You're a pervert, I don't want to." She turned her body around to face the wall, curling herself like a child.

"Wanna stay like that now?"

Quinn nodded.

"Then you can go home."

She suddenly pushed herself up as she took him by word. Pulling the shirt back over her shoulders, having him staring at her quietly, and maybe a little surprised, Quinn closed the buttons again with shy embarrassment. "Doctor, I'm for another appointment as I feel really uncomfortable wearing nothing underneath..."

"Alright," he responded casually and turned the computer off. "We'll set another one next week. You can leave then."

 _That easy?_ She got up from the examination table, straightening her outfit and beanie. "Okay. Goodbye Dr. Trafalgar," Quinn said then and walked out the door without looking as she heard him returning a lazy goodbye.

Judy saw him only as an affair, but it though felt like undressing in front of _her_ guy, what was just really awkward, despite that it was not in her comfort zone anyway. _God, he saw you in your underwear_! She thought annoyed and facepalmed. It might just have been a part of her bra, but that was intimacy enough, and she wondered how the brunette could be so confident.

Talking about her...

Quinn turned around, facing Law again as he was about to leave the infirmary as well. "Uhh, there's something I wanna ask you..." Should she do her the favor? Asking for his number?

Law raised a brow, keeping his tired face neutral though. "I listen."

"Weeeell..." She looked up at him, her face obviously in uncertainty. _If_ she would ask, it meant that she had to see him more often at her place. That was actually a bad idea, a reaaally bad idea. Not that he was unbearable, it would be just awkward. She didn't even know if she should call him Law or Dr. Trafalgar, the constant switching like having two identities was too silly for her taste. "My umbrella..."

"I forgot it today. Don't worry, I'll return it to you when we're seeing us next week," he responded flatly.

Nope, Judy should go herself hell damn it. Quinn adapted his flatness, saying "okay. Then, see you," and left.


	11. To dump

**11\. To dump**

Sunday morning, the time when Quinn woke up to care about nothing. Sunday was the day to not get up at five but three hours later, the day to be careless but having a relaxed day, the day to be lazy and avoid even the kitchen but order food.

It was the day that actually shouldn't smell so lovely in the morning. Quinn pushed herself up from the mattress and her brows furrowed in confusion as a warm sweet scent ran into her nostrils. It smelled good - too good to be her usual Sunday morning. Judy was never up that early, never before her, she never cooked good-smelling things around that time but only her eggs with bacon a bit after.

Still in confusion, she shifted herself up from the bed and slipped into her hoodie to get outside. Following the smell, it led her straight to the dining table, where her friend was sitting with her back to the blonde; silence and a warm, delightful scent filling the room. She narrowed her brows and carefully walked closer to Judy, placing herself in front of her on the other side of the table.

"Okay, what is that?" Quinn asked skeptically as she faced her friend that stared bemused into space. "You _never_ make pancakes."

Judy's eyes glided to her as she caught back to reality, giving her now the weak and relaxed stare of no confidence like she was dreaming and abandoning everything bad.

"I have three theories. First, Trafalgar's in your room. Second, someone better's in your room. Third-"

"It's third," Judy responded while she kept her look, her eyes appearing so blank and lost.

Quinn covered her mouth in shock, taking the chair to her front to sit down. "No way, what happened?"

The brunette spread her arms to display the tray between them, a big plate with a pancake tower smiling at Quinn. "This happened," Judy spoke with lightness. "I went against my nature. This is for you."

Quinn's jaw dropped. "Who are you? This is never for me. No no no, don't lie."

"Whom else should I prepare breakfast for?" She replied smiling, also extremely awkward to Quinn. It's true, Judy may cook for guys to impressed them, but if the night was over, she never made the effort to actually prepare breakfast for them. Not even if they were 'incredible'. Quinn pointed carefully to the plate and then to herself, repeating the move in disbelief.

With her half-lidded eyes, Judy smiled and pulled out a jar from the chair next to her. "And as I know you don't like syrup, I got you this."

"Oh my god... is this?"

"Yes. Selfmade applesauce, only for you and your pancakes."

Quinn grabbed the jar in impatience and excitement to open it, smelling the content then and poured a big lump over the tower. She took a bite and her eyes grew in awe. "This is heaven. Holy. Thank you."

Sitting there, still in her unusual mood, Judy watched Quinn eating her breakfast that brought new emotions to the blonde. That one looked at her friend, putting her cutlery down and narrowed her brows. "Okay, and now tell me what happened."

"I had asked Law for his number."

Curiosity overcame Quinn and she looked at her friend in anticipation to continue the story.

"Quinn. I'm closing this chapter of my life."

"Huh?"

Judy leaned her face into her palm, staring back into space. Her talking became so confidenceless, so flippantly light, the pressure of her palm against her mouth affected the comprehensibility. "I'm not made for this anymore. I will start a new life with new hobbies, new motivations, and perhaps a new name."

"Holy, did he ask you out?" Quinn questioned shocked. Maybe he had listened to her dating suggestion last time?

"What?" Judy said and moved her eyes to the blonde. "Quinn. I've lost my face yesterday." She pushed herself straight and took a deep breath. "I've never got dumped in my life. _Never_!"

"Hooooly, what did he say? Tell me everything!" Excitement for news triggered the blonde and she continued to eat while her eyes were never leaving her friend.

"I went to the hospital as you said, asking the nurse who _declined_ information about him. Then I just waited in the halls for him almost an hour! And when he was there, I asked and..." she paused for a moment and looked uncomfortable to the side. " _If I need anything from you, I'll get back to you,"_ she recited Law before she added abruptly and still in disbelief, "and then he left!"

"Oh my..."

"Right?! He just dumped me!"

"Oh my god Judy..." Quinn's face showed her digest to the story. "You _went_ to the hospital and _waited almost an hour_?"

The brunette's expression changed to a look a la 'excuse-me-what?'. " _This_ shocks you?"

Quinn told her casually, "oh yeah, that with Trafalgar, I forgot to say that I also don't like him because he's pretty arrogant."

"Quinn!"

"Did you know that he theoretically considered himself as the 'best' doctor?"

"Quinn!"

Quirking her brow with a displeased smile at the thought, the blonde continued her breakfast. She really had seen that coming anyway that Law would refuse to share his number, rejecting her selfish and straight. It would have been extremely embarrassing if _she_ had asked him back then to get such rejection, whereby it wouldn't even have been for herself.

Judy face-palmed, sighing out loud. "I just got dumped. It's not like I say I'm perfect, I do have my flaws but so much that...? No guy had ever dumped me!"

"Wait..." Quinn stopped eating, minimizing her view to what her friend looked at her annoyed and raised a brow. "Do you _like_ that guy?"

"Huh?" The brunette replied unamused. "What are you talking about?"

"You actually went there after work and waited for him! You would never do something like that! Oh my god, I knew during your slutting, you'll find someone."

"Ha ha, very funny. I'd like to remind you what this whole number thing's all about."

Quinn counted her points on her fingers. "He's handsome, he's good in bed, he's not clingy or lovey dovey, he's the dominating type, and he's gleeful. He's like made for you. Oh, and he dislikes Umeboshi just like you, and is 25 days older than you."

"What?"

"Or..." Quinn stared pensively into space, whispering like someone was spying on them, "he's your male version from a parallel universe. Woah, that would make you super narcissistic."

Ignoring her friend's silly theory, Judy asked surprised but not pleased, "how do you know about him so much?" It was sort of jealousy that painted her mood a little. Of course, she knew that Quinn clearly rejected any of her one-night-stands, let alone showing much interest in any guy, but jealousy was also uncommon for the brunette. _Everything_ that happened was uncommon.

"I asked him. I guess I'll see him forever as Umeboshi now, dry and salty. You better not bring that though, he seems to despise it." Her eyes shifted amused to the side and Quinn thought for herself, _hehe Dr. Umeboshi._

Falling with her cheeks into her hands, Judy sighed again and sank her lids in tiredness. "You lucky you. I wish he would be my doctor as well."

"I know you got weird fantasies."

"Handsome young doctor, examining you, how can-"

"Don't," Quinn interrupted her friend and shook her head with a dead face. Thinking back to her appointment, it was anything but wonderful, hot or exciting. Just a no-go. She then finished her meal, putting fork and knife properly down and thanked her friend with both hands clasped together. "Thank you for the breakfast ma'am. It was magical."

"When I start my new identity, you may get more of those," Judy responded halfhearted.

That was a tempting thought, but she, unfortunately, had to reject the idea. "Nope, Judy. It's really depressive to see you like that-" Quinn looked to the side with furrowed brows, surprised about her own statement that made her correcting herself, "no, actually not, it's kinda refreshing." Looking back to her friend, she finished the sentence though, "however, you like that guy and I think you shouldn't give up so soon. All in all he hadn't said that you won't see each other again."

"Okay first, I do _not_ like that guy. Second, it probably means that when he needs sex, he'll come over. But what about me? Is that not pretty selfish?"

Furrowing her brows one more in dissatisfaction, Quinn whimpered, "oh maaan, why do you have to destroy everything? It just sounded like a cute love story and then you have to bring in that..."

"Grow up, Quinn," Judy said and got up with the tray. "This will be part of your life as well one day."

"We could have a car now if I get a coin every time you consider me a child."

"Yeah, I'll keep going, maybe that wonder will happen in the future."

Her head followed the brunette walking to the sink to get the dishes washed. It's not like Quinn wasn't aware of that or asexual, she just got annoyed by it as for her it seemed like no one was taking real feelings seriously anymore. Why was it always about loveless intercourse? Her ex-boyfriend was the biggest asshole, since he just had used her to satisfy his pervert fantasies, and she actually had fallen for that like an idiot. As she tried to explain her view, she gestured with her hands to it. "Anyway, I never said it won't, it's rather a _side_ topic though. The focus is the chemistry between two human-beings. As long as non of them's asexual, making love will happen automatically, thus not necessary to mention for me."

"And he's just a sex interest, so."

Pouting her lips in defeat, Quinn leaned her chin with her hand on the backrest. "Okay, you're right... I'm sorry..."

"Oh, by the way, your work had called and asked you if you can jump in for a five-days school trip next week with fourth graders. One of the teachers can't because of some accident or so."

Next week? She actually got her appointment on Tuesday; should she made a new one instead? "Five days without me at home? I'm not sure."

"Geez, I'll survive it," Judy responded with a light laugh.

"Naah, it's not that. I'm rather scared that you'll have coitus everywhere... on the couch, on the dining table, on the kitchen counter, in my room..."

"Ah, that may be true. Don't worry, I would clean it," she answered with a big amused grin.

Contorting her face in disgust, Quinn also spoke it out. "I don't want any body liquids at a surface I usually connect with food."

"Don't worry, I'll only make them cum on your bed."

"Oh gawd! Judy! Gross! Gross! Gross!"

The brunette laughed. "Just kidding."

She said just kidding, and the rule said when Judy said it was a joke, then it indeed was one. But, Judy was like a minefield, hiding explosive surprises everywhere and every time, and just the thought of any naked guy in her own bed made Quinn cringe hard in disgust. "Oh, where are you going?" She asked as she watched her friend strolling away after she had finished the cleaning.

"Back to bed, hoping to come up with a great new identity."

Lowering her eyelids, the blonde just wondered if she had ever come with that idea to not to be known as the hoe of the hood. "Ohh Judy, you're exaggerating."

The brunette turned around with her posture not as straight and elegant as normally but heavy and sluggish. "Remember when I told you that I would make a contract with the devil? _This_ would be the moment, ...if I hadn't seen my soul leaving me already as those painful words pierced into my body and torned it out with the awfullest violence a person could do to someone."

"Uhuuu..." Quinn said with her blank face of cluelessness, having no advice in her repertory. The way her friend was acting and exaggerating like _she_ normally would do, it could only happen when it hit the brunette really bad. Such an ego pushing girl that defined her identity with the lust of men... Quinn closed her jaw and breathed out with an eye roll. "God, you're acting like he signed the divorce papers."

"Good morning, Quinn," Judy said and got into her room, closing the door quietly.

There weren't a lot of things in this world that could bring the brunette down, so receiving such rejection from a guy (Law or any other random one) must plummed her self-esteem. However, Quinn was sure this one to have been just a short phase of her being dumped the first time, so nothing she seriously had to worry about. At the latest when that guy would come back after craving for her, Judy would be back to normal. Hey, maybe the blonde would have a meal from her every day until then?

Sitting on the chair and dreaming about potato pancakes and applesauce, Quinn suddenly had another, less joyful thought. If she would jump in for the teacher tomorrow on the school trip, she better would go out today to send out the letter she had wanted to send for so long. But it was raining... The sound was so calming when you could cozy yourself at home, but walking outside was just a booh.

And still, Quinn decided to get up. Dressed comfortably in jeans and an oversize sweater, she knocked at Judy's door and opened to look inside. The person meanwhile had curled herself into the blanket, looking annoyed over the edge. "What is?"

Smiling wryly about her usual behavior, Quinn replied, "I'll get out to send off a letter. Just saying."

"What letter?" Judy asked and sat up, brushing her hair back.

Lowering her lids in awkward hesitation, the blue eyes moved aside. "Don't be mad at me, okay?"

"Oh, your application for this art class?"

"Yeah... I didn't apply last year because I just started my teaching job, but now the deadline for this year is in a week, and-and-and..."

"And you just wanna leave me alone."

"What nooo! I just apply and hope for an invitation to the qualification test, and then wait just to see if I _do_ have the skills for that class...! You know, it's kinda like a validation thing and-"

"I was just kidding," Judy then stated, calming her friend. "But really, if you wanna go, then do it. I won't hold you back."

"Huuuh? I said this is just a challenge to myself! I love my teacher job!" She claimed with furrowed brows as they turned to discomfort. That art class she wanted to apply for was out of their city on a renominated university; and if she ever got the chance to attended that one, it would be a huge push up in her CV besides making big connections during her sojourn over there. It was tempting to try, but Quinn felt bad towards Judy and her students to leave.

Judy smiled at her. "The moment you'll receive an invitation, you'll wave with considering it. Means, I'll make you pack your stuff and kick you out of this city."

"You do realize this apartment's half paid by me," the blonde responded with a blank face as if her friend was stupid.

Her eyes rolled in annoyance. "Geez, you know what I was supposed to say."

"Juuuust kiiiidding," Quinn said with a snickering grin. "However, I won't go! And if, it would be in a year anyway!"

Lying back on the mattress in tiredness, Judy closed her eyes. "However, there's no one here holding you back. If I'm bored, I just follow you into the city."

"Abandoning your job? I thought you do pretty well with your boss?" Surprise crossed her face. Judy had a simple office job, Quinn didn't even know what she was doing there, but she knew from her telling that her boss was a nice guy. At that moment, she was not in the position to think about leaving the office and hope for another job...

Judy pulled the blanket over her head. "Just leave already."

The blonde then closed the door with her lids half over her eyeballs again. Well, Judy was just as moody as always. Because she had been awakened pretty early, she was surely kind of sore that moment, thus she better let her get her deserved rest.

Looking out the window, Quinn sighed by the thought of getting out into the rain. The weather prognoses for the whole fellow week should be like that, it was just tiring to think of it and kind of depressive to see the world tinted in all those gray and dull colors. As Law still got her umbrella, she took her friend's, which was a plain red one with a black handle. She left the apartment then, entering the noisy and wet streets where as good as no one was outside but her. It kind of reminded her of the day she had gone to the hospital as melancholy crept in the sky, which was already a month ago, leaving her speechless how time just flew.

The nearest postbox was 20 minutes walk away into the city, or she would take a 5-minute bus ride. It was one every hour on Sundays, and she checked on the timetable just to see that she just missed the last one by ten minutes. _How annoying..._

Quinn decided to walk. She rarely saw the city on that weekday anyway, so it was like a little wet adventure of getting a letter to the postbox, made her just imagined it to be a video game. It was honestly somewhat relaxing too to be alone, only surrounded by the pouring water that made her feel a little nostalgic. She remembered a little from her childhood when her father went out with her and chased for the end of the rainbow after it rained cat and dogs. Her mother was so angry of him as both came back soaked to the bones, probably ended up with a big cold, but she couldn't remember that as she was not older than six back then.

Reaching the postbox, she threw in the letter and turned away to the bus station. The walk might have been nice, but she wanted herself to be spared by another walk back. On her way to the next bus station, Quinn saw a girl sitting on the backrest of a bench, her posture rather depressive as the rain drowned her completely. She furrowed her brows by the look of her loneliness, feeling the sadness that spread from her face not far from her spot. Questions about her well-being, her issues, it concerned her and so she decided to walk up to the girl. Something must have happened to her. Maybe she needed a helping hand, some comfort, something to happened to show her that the world was not a cruel place.

Surprised reddened eyes met her as Quinn stopped in front of the lonely person, holding the umbrella over her with a smile. "I would ask you if you're alright, but you're clearly not."

The girl looked ashamed and embarrassed down, wiping the tears from her eyes. "I'm okay! I-I was just needing some time alone."

She was saddened by something, but too proud to receive help. Could that anyone take amiss? Quinn was basically a stranger after all. Careful about what she was saying, the blonde kept her smile as she tried to approach her though, to at least get her out of the rain. "I really don't wanna annoy you but... believe me, you'll regret it the next few days with a thick cold when you're staying here under this shower."

She had short and light ginger hair and was probably also shorter than Quinn. Looking up to the blonde, she smiled at her quite forced and tried to sound normal, if not happy. "Thank you, but I'm really alright!"

Quinn sighed and closed the umbrella in her hand, now standing purely in the rain as well, earning confusion from the girl. "I know you're probably thinking 'what the hell' now, but I'm weird so that I decided to stay here with you until you get under my umbrella and accompany me to the next roof." As the girl furrowed her brows to her statement, Quinn added convinced, "I was ill last time as well and believe me, something ridiculous like that can change a looot!"

That her doctor was her bestfriend's sex interest was a great change in her daily life. She felt inserted into a TV show, what was quite amusing to her honesty, but also somewhat awkward.

The ginger's eyes fell to the umbrella and then back to the blonde, who just had the same wet look as her now, but happier. "Uhm, you... I'm really okay..."

Seeing her insincere smile again, Quinn took place next to her casually. "I know the best medicine against crooked smiles like yours." She took a deep breath with a wide grin and said, "how do astronauts organize a party?"

Not sure about the answer and if she even _should_ answer, she was staring at Quinn and waited for her to say something.

Quinn looked to the side and smiled sassily into her face. "They planet."

As a short silence followed, the girl suddenly giggled with the failing attempt to hold it back. "That one was good."

"Whaaat?" In huge surprise, the blue orbs widened. "You found it funny?!"

"Yeah, that one was really not bad."

"Oh my god! I'm Quinn! I don't wanna be obtrusive or so, but people usually dislike the jokes I'm telling, and I don't know, I think they find puns unfunny whereby I think them to be the funniest! My bestfriend rather laughs about other people's misery and she thinks I'm childish! Not that I'm talking bad behind her back, I love her and I do tell into her face what pomegranate she is, beautiful but sour and bitter!" Stopping from her hysteria with some pantings, she took a deep breath before she continued with her conclusion, "sooo, you're one of the minority that laughs _with_ me!"

Snickering to her excitement, the girl pointed to the umbrella to tell her opening it again. Quinn then immediately did and looked at her with big eyes. "Gaaawd, thanks! It's so freaking cold!"

"I'm sorry," the ginger answered with a smile. "I'm Koala."

"Koala?! What cute name!" Quinn exclaimed then in light fascination.

Koala rubbed her cheek with an awkward smile, less with Quinn's opinion. "Uhh, thanks, but I don't really like it as my schoolmates used to mock me during my teenage time."

"Woah, I bet it were some people with boring names!"

She laughed quiet- but heartily about the blonde's cheerfulness.

"Hey... I don't wanna be pushy but..." Quinn suddenly leaned her face with suspecting eyes to the girl. "Is your problem about... love?"

Feeling caught, she drop-sweated with blushed face. "H-how do you know?!"

"People tend to feel embarrassed crying about love as they worry to be too melodramatic, thus claim everything to be alright."

Looking indeed embarrassed away from her, Koala covered her face with one hand. "There's a guy I like and I know him for so long. I kinda confessed to him but it was totally awkward and he didn't say much either, so I became desperate and somehow we ended in a fight, and now I'm here."

"Woah..., uhm..." Quinn felt weird and bad that she had made her telling so much. "Y-you don't have to tell me if you feel uncomfy, I mean I'm ready to help you with some advice, though I'm bad at giving advice; but it's rather something to tell your best friend than-"

"But what if he _is_ your bestfriend?!" Koala snapped with pink cheeks in frustration.

The blonde placed one hand on the girl's shoulder, staring determined into her eyes. "If he's your bestfriend, I'm sure it's just a miscommunication thing and he likes you too!"

Confused, she was glaring at Quinn, questioning her confidence.

"I mean, this is only something I could observe from my students. If something develops over friendship, both of you will feel the differences, the little teases, the little flirts and the different kind of caring," was her response. She then put her hand back down and turned to the front. "My students were only 5th grader I know for a year, but I could watch their interaction and how it changed - what was really cute by the way and later they became the class couple! He's your best friend, I'm sure he doesn't want to hurt you on purpose but had felt unsure and overran during the moment."

Thinking about her words carefully and also somewhat surprised, Koala stared at Quinn. She hadn't been prepared to meet someone to talk to in her little love misery, hence felt thankful for her attention. "You're right, I-"

"Of course there are jerks too who seemed to be nice or friendly but have no clue about women's feelings and thoughts!" Quinn cut her off without even noticing she did, her sort of irritated face that caught fire turned back to the ginger. "In case he's just a total moron about love, plays with you or whatever, dump that jerk! Maybe he's just after your body! I know a lot of dudes who are friendly to women only to bang her in the end! Else they aren't that nice and perverts! Groaaar, don't let yourself being make the fool!"

"Ah no no, Quinn," she replied laughing, gesturing her with both open hands to cool down. "He's not like that, I know him since we're teenagers, he's a very kind guy and not any sort of those you mean."

Lowering her eyelids with her lips tightened to a bow down, Quinn tried to register her words and consider them true. "Hmmpf, if you say so... Nice and pervertless guys are rare. I only met those," she said and muttered annoyed to the side, "even my male colleague keeps staring at my ass, as if I'm not noticing that..."

"I'm sure you'll meet someone someday who appreciates more of you than your female treats," Koala stated with a warm grin.

Quinn liked that girl, she was carrying so much positive energy. Talking to her was refreshing and she felt sympathizing with her instantly, thus hoping with all might that between her and her male best friend everything would turn out well.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Well, no Law in here I know, I'm sorry~ But Koala appeared randomly dun dun dun, talking about her best friend (who you sure know lol) - I try to avoid more OC's as much as I can :D_

 _ **miki -** naw, thank you for your review! I was really happy to received and read it. Glad that you like Quinn and etc.! I love writing conversations and happy that you enjoy them. I also do like to write character thoughts, but I avoid to write down too many as the story should also develop through their verbal interaction. Else way it would be too easy to see where the story goes by reading every single thought haha. Also, Shachi and Penguin will be interacting more later, their time will come xD Your english is fine, I understand it all :D Learning by doing! It's not my first language too :)_


	12. Rainy days

**12\. Rainy days**

The days away with the students was a kind of sad thing, since the weather had been playing its own game up to now. Constantly, it had been raining, made it hard for them to get outside to spent more time in nature like it had been planned. However, Quinn returned home on Friday evening as the sky was pouring its water down over the city again.

She opened the door and got with her wet clothes inside, putting down the hood that saved her a little from the rain. Though she thought it to had been sad, she wouldn't consider it as a waste, because it had been quite fun to at least spend some time outside the city. An average size gym bag was her luggage for the week, which she placed down to the floor pretty fegged, and her eyes narrowed by an uncommon sound coming from Judy's bedroom.

"Stop... I... can't do no more...," she heard her friend gasping and begging, her voice fading in sore exhaustion. "Please..."

It was uncomfortable to hear her like that, and Quinn's chest tightened in worries, made her walking to the kitchen to grab the rolling pin. If that was some rapist or an extremely hungry guy that didn't know when to stop, she was ready to punch that one with the kitchen item so hard to send him flying. Carefully, she was stepping to the door, trying to make no sound. She grabbed the door handle and opened a small gap to glimpse inside, checking the situation.

"Law, I can't... stop..."

Quinn backed off immediately with a red face, her heart throbbing painfully by her startle. It was her doctor she had seen behind her friend who was on all four, moaning out her exhaustion. _Ouh craaap..._ , the blonde thought in her embarrassment and covered her face with her free hand. _You saw nothing! He was naked, but you only could see his upper part! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!_

Not that she had seen more than before, but to see him doing things like _that_ was just utterly strange and uncomfortable. But what was owning that, were Judy's cries as he was taking her. Why did that guy not stop? What was wrong with him? Was that rape? She had heard stories about successfully subduing offenders, but it was scary in reallife though, she couldn't even keep her eyes open. Oh no, what if he would kill Judy? Or kill her? Or kill both? What if that guy was going to torture them? Her breathing became flat as she heard her friend's muffled cry into the pillow, the loud sound of their skin clasping onto each other harshly, and his heavy breathing...

It was just uncomfortable, that was not how she imagined rape but well, Judy said 'stop' and he didn't.

Covering her eyes, Quinn pulled herself together and torned the door open. "You jerk, let go of her!" she shouted and threatened him with the rolling pin. "I-I will call the police after I smash your head...!"

Then, freaking silence roamed between them, only the exhausted breathing fell to her ears beside her own.

Why was no one saying something? What was happening now?

She could see nothing behind her hands. "H-hello?" She stammered unsure with blushed cheeks. "I c-can hit really hard with th-that thing...!"

Law raised a brow by her unexpected action. Oh man, she wasn't really trying to fight a 'rapist' by getting in and avoiding his look, threatening him with a rolling pin, was she? Trying to hold back a grin, he sat back to the mattress and looked away while his fingers pressed against his cheeks, covering his curled lips.

Judy sighed out and casually straightened back on her buttocks. "Quinn, you're already back?"

"It's past eight, of cou- what the hell's going on here?!"

Brushing her hair out of her face, she told her calmly, "well, you bumped into our privacy."

"What? Haven't you-" Quinn paused awkwardly, her lips pressed tightly together as the realization of her completely misunderstanding the situation caught up with her. Face-heated by the extreme embarrassing behavior she had pulled off, she stepped quietly backward in her awkwardness and even tripped once as she still blocked her own view.

No. She just didn't really interrupted the two during their sexual intercourse _like an idiot._ She just had made herself a fool in front of him again, this time worse than the puking, god she wanted to die right away. _No no no no! What have you done?!_

Rushing to the bathroom, the blonde looked into the mirror with big blushing cheeks, holding them in her foolishness. _No! This didn't really happen...!_ Who had known that people were sleeping with each other in that way too? So that was meant by the category 'hardcore', Quinn couldn't even face herself anymore.

"Miss Heady."

"I saw nothing! I saw nothing!" She claimed right away as she heard Law's voice close to her, clearly avoiding his face

He smirked slyly with his lazy eyes, walking next to her to the sink and turned it on to wash his hands. "You got nerves. To really disturb people like that, does it happen now and then?"

"What no!" Quinn stated with uncomfortable embarrassment, looking at the guy next to her, who was still carrying the slyness on his lips. And he was still topless, only dressed in his jeans, so her eyes were forced to look into his face. "She said 'stop', so I thought she meant it...! Why should a person say 'no' to something they actually _want_ that moment?!"

Law didn't laugh, but he was extremely amused about what had happened, and about her not able to cool down but exaggerating in her discomfort. It was a fair question if her best friend wouldn't be the kind that actually wanted to be taken so rough.

Quinn gritted her teeth in annoyance as she looked at his carefreeness. "What are you doing here again anyway...?!"

"I thought I return the umbrella to you as I told you to do this week. But as you've canceled the appointment, and because it's been raining a lot these d-"

"Why do those sound like excuses? Just say you needed some sexy time," she interrupted him with both her hands placed to her hips, talking in skepticism.

Law side-glanced her with a surprised smile about her new wording. " _Sexy time?_ "

The blonde twitched back with a step and narrowed her brows in displeasure, while her cheeks remained in her blush. "Y-you and Judy are not making _love._.."

Geez, that blonde was weird, it was almost appallingly cute. "You can choose the reason you like better."

Not convinced about anything that was leaving his mouth, Quinn stepped out of the bathroom without breaking their eye contact as hers shot him minimized. She felt not well talking to that guy, because he was making her feeling so stupid that she escaped back to her friend's room, checking on her.

That one was lying in her rosé morning coat on the bed, playing with her phone, asking pretty disinterested, "hey, how was it?"

"Say, what's with you and him now? You don't look depressive anymore," Quinn went straight to her own question as she knew that Judy didn't really care how her school trip was. Everything connected to her work with children was in her disinterest, such as everything connected to her one-night-stands in Quinn's. Well, Law was different though as Judy acted unusually towards him. He fell out the frame because he wasn't there for just one night, hence curiosity about their relationship development existent.

Judy sat up properly, putting the phone away and replied, "he came over by himself and wanted me, that was confirmation enough."

Squinting her eyes a little, Quinn shook her head slowly to her fascinated response. "God, you're so simple."

"And in the end, you interrupted us."

"Hey! I-I thought he was doing it against your will...," the blonde defended herself with sunken mouth corners. "I just wanted to help, thanks for appreciating my care."

"Oh, actually when I said stop, I _did_ mean stop, but I was okay with him keep going. That was hot," Judy said, smiling, her eyes falling dreamily to the side.

"To see you submissive's kinda strange..." was Quinn's response, a brow rose in conceiving surprise. Her gaze then slid to the side as she added thoughtfully, "this is like... black magic on biological base."

As Law got back to the room as well, he said not much than, "I'm gonna leave now," while he picked up his socks and sat down on the mattress to put them on.

He also had a big tattoo on his back that the blonde hadn't seen before, despite that it was the first time for her to see him topless more than just half of a second. Those tattoos looked so freaking badass on his body, Quinn couldn't look away and tried to get used to that look _. A sexy doctor huh? Whaaa...! Ouh shut up girl!_

While she was busy with hitting her own head in embarrassment, Judy shifted herself to him, unhappy about his words. "Whaaat? Already?"

"Yeah."

She wrapped her arms from behind around his neck, asking with lovely voice, "don't you wanna stay a little longer for dinner?"

"No," he replied flatly. "I've got other things to do."

 _What a jerk..._ Quinn thought as she got back to present and observed his selfish behavior of getting here to bed her friend, and to disappear whenever he wanted. His bad manners were a turn off for her that not even his well-toned and leaned muscles could save his impression.

"Come on Law, stay a little bit," Judy made another try in keeping him there. She massaged his neck and gently stroke down his chest, telling in light seductive but playful tone, "there'll be a dessert."

"Oh! I want ice cream!" Quinn snapped in with big eyes as the word 'dessert' got her in surprise. "You remember the banana ice cream you made once? That was soooo good, you gotta show him!"

She saw the brunette's displeased expression, who darted her widened eyes silently down to the young man to tell what stupid comment she just had made again.

"Ouh... _that_ dessert..." Quinn said as she grasped her actual idea, and grinned awkwardly. "Sorry."

Law was smirking slightly to the floor, hidden from both of them. It was not the first time for her misunderstanding her friend's talking, and thought it was amusing every time it happened. He was entertained about her stupidity, or rather said 'slowness' in understanding, it was like watching TV in 4D.

"Yeah... anyway." Judy got up from the bed, stretching her neck as she told, "I'm gonna take a shower now, and then I'll cook-"

"You gotta stay or else she won't," Quinn made a short remark into her sentence to emphasize the need of Law's stay.

"Weeell..., then I'll cook and _maybe_ make some banana ice cream," the brunette continued then with a sarcastic smile and walked out of the room in her rosé matching slippers.

"You're the best, please wash your hands properly, I love you," her friend called after her flatly. She then turned back to Law, and how awkward the atmosphere between them suddenly was as he stared at her in silence after Judy's disappearance. Having one arm stiffly behind her back, she lifted the other with open palm and a forced smile, since she had no clue what to do next with their guest. "Hi... how are you?"

Law twitched a brow and shifted his prosaic and disinterested gaze away, scanning the room for his stuff. He really needed to stop tossing his clothes around when he had tugged them off.

Noticing that he hadn't changed his plans, Quinn said, "huuuh, you still wanna go?"

"Yeah, I said I've got things to do."

"But you can't just go," she responded, telling convinced about her own words, "you have to try the ice cream!"

"Sure that I really _have to_ , or do you want me to stay because she else wouldn't make some?" The young man asked calmly as his lazy and stoic expression aimed at her.

"Yeah."

He smirked lightly and rested his chin on his hand as his torso leaned a little forward, his arm lying on his legs. "Miss Heady, aren't you out the age to be excited of getting ice cream served? If you want some, go and buy some."

"Okay first, you can't just _buy_ good self-made ice cream. Second, you sound just like Judy."

"I'm sorry, happens." Law then straightened back and wanted to get up as the girl took place next to him on the bed, keeping her glare ahead. He stopped and looked at her.

"What's a duck's favorite drug?" Quinn said and turned her head to him to look into his face that might inquire a bit her action as his brow rose to question. She smiled a little, though not really in happiness. "Just a joke to moist your dryness."

It already started bad, but well, there was nothing against a little joke. "I don't know, what is it?

"Quack."

Now, she was smiling at him widely with sealed lips as if she expected a positive reaction. And again he was showing not much response to it. Quinn then took a deep breath and exhaled out audibly, her eyes rolling with a smile. "Okaaay, it wasn't that-"

"It was absolute bad."

"Okaaay, it was absolutely bad, but I know a good knock-"

"No knock knock jokes."

"Okaaay, you're right." She sighed again lightly and moved her eyes to the side like she was tired. "Whoever invented knock knock jokes should get a no bell prize."

Their eyes locked with their heads not moving a bit, and as always he was totally untouched by her humor while her lips tightened, holding her little giggle. But she gave in by his silence with a small laugh, saying "oh man, I was preparing for that!"

"Preparing?" He repeated rather in skepticism.

She looked at him and nodded frantically in joy. "Didn't you see? First I've introduced with another super bad joke where I could be sure that you _won't_ find it funny - unless you've got a really weird humor. And then I suggested a knock-knock joke, and really, even _I_ find knock knock jokes bad. But that was all just to low your expectations for the surprising joke that ca-"

"Miss Heady, you're talking too much."

Quinn stopped and shifted her orbs with a little blush to the side. "I-I'm sorry... it's just-, when I-, uhm... yeah, it's okay, I keep quiet. I'm sorry." Soundless she was getting up in her discomfort, the awkward silence making her want to escape. "I'll get you a glass water..."

A glass of water? That was her excuse to get away from the situation? However, something to drink would be good though, after the previous game. Law got up and picked his t-shirt and sweater from the floor, putting both back on. His keys and phone got back into his pockets before he left the room again.

Quinn got to him with the promised water, staring at the young man with half-lidded eyes as annoyance grew in her by his glare, followed by his quiet chuckle to the side. "What now? Do I look funny?"

He took the glass and walked to the entrance door, getting back into his shoes.

A little surprised about his choice as he had said nothing before she had left for the water, the blonde followed him to the door. "You still wanna go?"

"Yeah, we're gonna see each other next week," he responded and stood back straight as his shoes were on, drinking the water relaxed.

Quinn furrowed her brows, slightly crabby about his ignorance. "You can't just leave when she's under the shower, disappearing just like ' _poof'_."

"I wouldn't know why not," the young man said and handed her back the empty glass. "Thanks."

Standing right in front of Law, she noticed that she actually had to look a little up in order to talk to him. He was about one head taller than her, so for her pretty tall when she thought about the height of her ex-boyfriend who was as tall as Judy, hence 5'9".

"What's the staring? Do _I_ look weird?" Law said as he glimpsed down to the scanning gaze.

"You're really tall."

"Maybe you're just short."

Quinn shook her head slowly, answering with blank expression. "No, I'm totally average for a woman."

"And I'm totally average for a man," he replied flatly.

Her eyes grew by his statement. "No? My ex-boyfriend was like that," she said and raised her hand horizontal next to her own head to show him the height difference.

Law smiled slyly. "Are you comparing me to your ex?"

"No, to my dog -of course I do!" The blonde told as if he was stupid. Seeing him widening his sly smile a little, her cheeks turned somewhat pink again and she complained about his behavior. "What? He's a guy too and obviously not as tall as you...!"

He didn't respond to that but let her feeling uncomfortable by whatever she was interpreting. A girl comparing a guy to her ex-lover _was_ just inviting to tease when there actually weren't any intentions in that direction from her side, aside from her constant upset and embarrassment that amused him anyway She did well in 'sweeting' everything up, though it was to her bad and his gloat.

Staring outside the window then, having Quinn doing the same, they saw how it was still pouring like a waterfall. He looked at her and she smiled wryly. "It's weird when you came ' _just to return my umbrella_ ', and then request it again."

"I can do without, it's fine," he replied and pulled down the door handle.

If things like him ending up with a cold could be clearly prevented, she wouldn't hesitate to do then as it was somehow in her - or actually her friend's who was showering - responsibility. "Ah whatever, take Judy's," the girl said and grabbed the red umbrella, which stuck right next to hers, handing him the item. "One reason more for you to pay her a visit again, that surely would make her happy."

He took and eyed it. "Well, I preferred that one anyway. Less kitschy, less childish, more neutral. Also, it's more... ladylike."

Excuse her?

"You know what?! Forget it!" Quinn said and ripped the umbrella annoyed out of his hand, earning an amused but surprised smiling face. Still in her outdoor wearing, she lay the glass to the side and took the keys. "I'm gonna take you to your car, so you _don't_ have to make the effort to return it," she said before she looked at him with a sarcastic smile, adding, "we don't want anyone seeing you with a _ladylike_ umbrella, right?"

"Oh, they know me with something worse anyway," he responded in mockery as he recalled the last time he had borrowed one.

Quinn rolled her eyes and kept her sarcasm, acting quite serious to her words that she had rather wished to hear, "thank you, Miss Heady, for your care. Thank you for making the effort to go outside in the cold rain to take me to my car in order for me to not get wet. Oh no problem Dr. Trafalgar, I don't want you to get ill, but I appreciated your gratefulness."

"Well, I said I can go without, and you just decided to not hand me one," Law said then, and she shifted him annoyed by his back outside the apartment with his smile not faltering.

"Go go go go go." It was a remarkable moment for Quinn later when she would realize that this was the first time for her to had touched him. Well, touching a person in such casual way was nothing special, but touching _him_ somehow _was_ as he was actually an unreachable weirdo, where she had to be scared to get in body contact with. She had imagined him to be discomforted by that and gets cold or angry, or that he would interpret it as any sexual approach. His backside that was getting pushed forwards by her full palm felt very different to her ex-boyfriend's back. Much fitter that she could feel the difference even through the sweater. Else she had never really touched other guys before than shaking hands.

"Woah, the rain will never stop. There's still no sign of spring," Quinn said as both stood at the entrance of the building, having the raindrops racing down in front of their eyes. It was quite noisy but relaxing as those hit the different surfaces around, a dozen every millisecond each so that the smell of the wet street flew around.

Law looked over to a yellow spot several meters away. "There's my car."

"I know. How can I not see this bright color, molesting my eyes," she replied in deadpan as she acknowledged too, the glowing dot coloring everything in the dullness of desaturation.

"I'm sorry for having such a bad taste," he said and shoved both his hands into his pockets.

"Ahh no! I actually like yellow, that was just a joke!" Quinn stated soon as she thought to had said something wrong. He smirked slightly and darted down to the umbrella for her to open it. In annoyance, she was opening the item while the sudden awareness of his mockery got her eyelids lowering unimpressed. "God, you're making fun of me for being so nice..."

The two then began to walk off. "Calling yourself nice is like calling yourself funny. No one does that," Law told her casually.

Quinn held the umbrella up and a little out of her comfortzone, since he was pretty tall. Keeping the arm-raising position was somewhat tiring, but she didn't complain though and took it as pretty normal as a host. "You've called yourself the best doctor, it's basically the same as calling yourself intelligent. That's kind of a no-go too."

"Give me the umbrella," he said as he saw the unnecessary effort of her, and took the item to hold it himself.

Taking his gesture as normal as well, she instead chose to stay with the dialogue. "Ha! You can't counter anymore."

"That's right. You defeated me," he responded flatly.

Her lips pouted a little and she said dissatisfied, "this is not fun when you don't fight back..."

"You prefer me to be a bad loser?"

"No, I prefer you to be a loser in general."

Law smirked lightly to the front, answering in his confidence, "then I have to disappoint you."

Wow, that guy was a piece of self-assured human-being with all his teasing smiles and smirks. Had he ever laughed from his heart once without feeling entertained by something but actually feel happy?

The two stopped in front of his car, and he unlocked it and opened the door after he had returned the umbrella to the young woman. Taking place inside, Quinn bowed down with the umbrella to eye the vehicle from the inside, a little in disbelief about how much a person could pay for owning such transport. "How much did you spend on that thing?"

"I'll see you next week, Miss Heady, don't cancel again," he replied, awarely ignoring any question about money. It's just something people shouldn't talk about.

Quinn smiled wryly into his face. "Oh, I am so gonna cancel, I'll cancel like a champion."

He raised a brow and told her dryly, "then you don't have to come anymore."

"Maaan, that was just a joke," she stated with furrowed brows, a little annoyed about him having no humor at all.

Law countered though with a flat, "I was just kidding too," and fastened his seat belt.

Was he serious? She could remember to had told him once to work on his way of expressing humor. Looking at him with stale eyes, she said, "just let the jokes."

Law smirked a little and turned his face to her. To hear that from someone who was just as unfunny as a comedian making jokes about deads. "You don't let yours either, so?"

She kept her stale stare at him, and her cheeks turned slowly a little pink while her expression didn't change. "Touché."

Backing off then for him to close the car's door, she walked back on the pavement and watched his car turned on as the lights flashed in the rain. A yellow sports car, it was somehow matching him pretty well, though black would have done it too. Was that his favorite color? Or did he need attention from his fellow people when he was cruising through the streets? Quinn had never been a great car admirer, but she caught herself with the thought of actually driving that thing, or at least being a passenger...

As the car had turned directions and stood with the driver side to her, Law shifted the window down. "Something else, Miss Heady."

Woah, he was looking quite cool in his car...

"It's better for a surgeon to be able to consider himself 'intelligent', otherwise it would be bad if he has no confidence in his doing."

Quinn tightened her lips unhappy in her loss, speaking out a grumpy "touché..."


	13. Shameless time waste

_**Zerom1v -** I had to smile as I read your comment because I already had this chapter written that contains what you have said. Thanks for your review :)~_

* * *

 **13\. Shameless time waste**

Quinn had no nerve to go and see him again at the hospital after what had happened last week. Catching Law and Judy during rough sex was extremely awkward and uncomfortable, especially as she got inside and interpreted it wrong. She had said to stop, so Quinn took her by word and wanted him to stop...

Walking into the infirmary with her coat on her arm, she sighed in exhaustion and wanted to take place on the examination table as Law wasn't there yet. Something was lying on there, and getting closer, she recognized it as a cellphone that the previous patient probably forgot. Smiling wryly into space, she thought, _or Dr. Pervert dropped it as he molested one of his patients tehe._

It was simple and black, and as she turned the screen on, it displayed her a plain lock screen background with the slogan 'Freedom'. Well, Law was the type to do as he pleased but she imagined him to have something more sexual as lock screen, or something cute like an ice bear, or gore, or something just even more plain like a completely black background.

Hearing someone behind her, she turned around and saw a young tall man at the doorway, scanning the room till they met eyes. "Ah, sorry! I was here before and think I've dropped my phone."

He had blonde wavy hair, just like her but different. It was a lighter and cooler tone, and the waves much weaker and proper. Outstanding though was the big scar on the left side of his eye and she found herself staring at it.

"Uhm, sorry?" He asked her with an awkward smile, "you're alright?"

Catching herself in her obtrusive staring, Quinn blushed embarrassed and felt bad for what she had done. That guy probably got complexes already for the stamp, and now she was even staring like an idiot at it. "I-I-I'm sorry! Uh yeah, your phone! It's here!" She held it towards him and wanted to hand it casually as it suddenly slipped due to her panic out of her hand. Both trying to catch it, she rather spasmodic, and they failed so it fell to ground with a loud crack.

"Oh crap! I'm so sorry! Sorry sorry sorry!" Quinn panicked and picked it up immediately. "I was stupid! I'm so sorry!"

The guy took it and said with comforting attitude, "ah it's okay. Not the first time that it got dropped."

"Ah, that's even worse!" She stated with furrowed brows in guilt.

He smiled and turned the screen on. "See? Everything alright, still works."

His smile, it was so lovely on his face, which scar couldn't destroy the visual. It was really salient and looked like a burn scar, but though, he was cute looking and Quinn caught herself eyeing the young man. He was wearing a plain white shirt under his black winter coat and gray trousers. A blue scarf hung from his neck and brown leather gloves dressed his hands. Somehow, he appeared a little classy to her and she didn't even know that she had a thing for properly dressed men when she thought back to her sluggish ex-boyfriend.

"Anyway, thank you miss," he said and turned around to leave again.

"You're still here?"

"Ah Dr. Dillan," the guy said as they ran into each other at the doorway. "I just forgot my phone."

"Ah okay, see you next week then, Sabo," the female doctor said like they were close friends, and he waved at her before leaving the infirmary.

 _Sabo..._ Quinn repeated in her mind, making her look a little lost.

"Are you alright, dear?" Dr. Dillan asked her as she noticed the absence, and the blue eyes widened and shifted immediately to her.

In tiny relief and great surprise, Quinn questioned her, "a-are _you_ examining me today?!"

Unfortunately, she had to disappoint the girl and laughed a little. "Ah no no, my shift just ended. That young man before was my last patient, Dr. Trafalgar must be here soon. I was just bringing a folder back."

"Oh, okay..."

Dr. Dillan laughed again lightly. "You don't like Dr. Trafalgar?"

"Well..." Quinn moved her eyes down with her mouth corners pointed down. "Not really, he's a weirdo..."

"He's a very good doctor, just a little special in behavior," the doctor responded heartily. "Don't be scared of his dry and straight way. He's just not the talkative, but a good guy."

Good guy? That woman surely didn't know about his sexual history. "Yeah... he's really... something..."

"But if you feel uncomfortable with him, I can overtake you."

"What? Isn't that too much stress for you?" Quinn asked her with worry.

"Ah, that's okay. He's just performing as a general practitioner anyway because the number of patients had raised the last year. He's mainly still a surgeon." Looking to her behind and then back to the blonde, Dr. Dillan whispered, "except for young girls, it's not rare that patients complain about his attitude. But he cares less that people refused his help. Always comes to me and complains how annoying his patients are."

"Huuh? He told me it would be too much stress to change doctors," Quinn said with confusion crossing her face that was also somewhat displeased.

Dr. Dillan's eyes grew a little in surprise. "He said that?"

"Yeah..."

"Oh, I didn't know he was that caring for his colleagues," she mumbled sarcastically but distinctly hearable. Somehow she was skeptical about her own words though and raised a brow slowly in thoughts as her gaze moved to the side. Looking back to the blonde, she said, "however. Just tell me if you wanna change, it's totally fine."

 _That guy just fucked with me..._

Law must get along with Dr. Dillan well or else she wouldn't be able to talk about him like that so playfully. That woman was no person to talk bad behind other people's back, and she was his place to go when he needed to complain. But him and being a good guy? She couldn't imagine that but even rather him to be a criminal if there wouldn't be the police. Maybe a serial killer who played with his victims, dissecting and experimenting on them.

Quinn grabbed her coat and put it on, earning some confused eyes from the doctor. "Well, you know what? If that's so, I cancel the appointment, tell him 'sorry' from me and that I will never return."

Surprise washed over Dr. Dillan's face. "Oh, uh, okay? You want to make an appointment with me instead?"

The blonde turned around with a smile before she left. "I'll call when I need one."

Walking then out of the infirmary, Quinn caught fire of confidence and she praised herself for what she just had done. _Woah, have you really done that?!_ She mentally asked herself in big, but positive disbelief. Normally, she was always plagued with bad conscience even there was no reason to, but that guy was even too much for her that she could almost talk about enjoying being the 'mean' one. And she normally didn't like to be the mean one.

Smiling, she was strolling fleet-footed through the hospital corridors, but the happiness that surrounded her faltered as she ran into the young man. The curled lips rather appeared forced now as their eyes met in the awkward silence between them. Not even his flashy green sanitary trousers he wore today could distract her.

"Where are you going?" Law asked with his dryness as he actually had been on the way to the infirmary she was supposed to be.

Quinn inhaled quietly, trying not show her sudden discomfort of facing him right then. "...home."

His brow rose. "Home? Did something happen or why do you cancel the appointment again?"

Why was it getting her nervous? She felt somewhat bad to tell him that she was rejecting his help now and thereby had she been convinced a minute ago to have no bad conscience in his case. "Dr. Dillan said I can shift doctors whenever I want... So, I decided not to go to you anymore."

He was glaring at her for a moment in digest and then looked at his watch around his wrist, sighing. "You should've said that before, you're wasting my and other patients time."

Her eyes changed to light irritation as she couldn't believe what she just had heard. "Excuse me? _You_ have been the one to tell me it would be too much stress for the hospital."

"It is, I didn't lie," he responded. "But I never said you cannot change."

Her lips tightened to a sunken bow by his words that emphasized his bad character clearly. How dared he to tell her like he had _not_ tried to persuade her in visiting him as his patient in the hospital? How selfish and arrogant could a person be, he was surely one of those people that were too proud to accept their guilt. "God, you know what? You're one reason more why I should not visit the hospital!"

"Miss Heady, I just wanna remind you to go and let your heart check though."

She continued to move and passed him with a, for her rather uncommon, attitude of arrogance as she spoke sarcastically, "thanks for your care, Dr. Trafalgar."

As she vanished from his view, he quietly turned a little to his back and watched her disappearing from the corridors to leave the building. Well, that was another annoyance than he knew from her, but he saw nothing wrong in what he had done. Like mentioned he had never told her it was impossible to find another doctor, he also had never said that she was obliged to come; she had come on her own, thus he was not to blame.

"Oh, Trafalgar!" Dr. Dillan said as she crossed his path as well. "Quinn Heady had canceled the appointment, she said she won't return."

He ignored her humorous tone and turned away to walk back to the office. "Already got it."

The woman caught up with his pace in amusement, walking next to him to get back as well in order to get her stuff together before leaving the place. "Congratulations, you crept out one more patient," she said teasingly, already used to those situations.

"Whatever," Law replied pretty drily, and for the woman's taste, it was this time too dry.

"Does something concern you, dear?" It was her 'maternal mode' that switched her mood instantly the moment she noticed Law to be unrelaxed; what was new to her as he appeared rather carefree and emotionless at work, aside from his complains now and then about some patients that were hard to work with. They already prevented him from talking to any child patient that needed surgery as he got no talent in comforting them before an operation at all. Law, however, ignored the woman and walked away from her, getting back to his stuff, what quite unsatisfied her. Not that it was new to see his ignorance, but for any reason, she thought he was a tiny bit more annoyed than usual.

* * *

Late in the night around ten, Judy got back home from the office and yawned in exhaustion as she entered the apartment. She slipped out from her pumps and hang her coat, aiming her room to get inside, but the look of her friend sleeping on the couch got her attention. The TV was still on and irradiated her lying body not far away.

Judy walked over to her and shook her shoulder to get the girl awake. "Hey Quinn, if you wanna sleep, go into your room."

Opening her eyes slowly, she glared quietly with tiredness at her friend. It took her a little to grasp the situation, but she didn't care though and turned around from her to face the backrest of the couch in order to continue sleeping.

"You wanna stay like that now?" Judy asked then with a sigh to what Quinn just nodded. She had no power to convince her from getting into her bed as she knew the girl was too stubborn to do. So, Judy took the thin cozy blanket closeby and threw it over her. "Did you go to the hospital today? What had he said?"

"I didn't go," Quinn responded quietly while she was still facing the backrest. "I won't go there again anyway."

"What? Why didn't you go?"

"Time waste."

Inquiring, Judy took place on the couch as well next to the blonde's legs. "Oh no, don't fall back to that! Hadn't Law mentioned you should recheck your heart?"

Turning slowly around to look into her friend's face, Quinn said annoyed, "I don't care what that guy says, he's a total jerk."

Judy leaned with one arm against the couch, supporting her head on her fist. She sighed once more and threw her a weary look. "What happened now? I thought you two get along?"

Annoying by what she had said, Quinn pushed her torso up and claimed miffed, "I never got along with him! You know, I'm just nice to him because you like him!"

"Hey, I said I-"

"You haven't brought any other guy home since him, ever noticed?" She cut her off as she had enough of listening to her excuses. For her, it was obvious that her friend developed any sort of submissive feelings towards that guy, since she acted quite desperate when it came to him, and it was an image Quinn was not used to.

Judy however, was convinced that he was just a guy like any other she had met. She might act differently, but to her, it meant nothing as Law was just somewhat special in behavior and a new challenge to her. "Yeah, I'm really busy to do, so."

"God Judy, you didn't even care that he sees you just as some object to fuck!" Quinn then motioned with her hands slowly and blunt from one side to the other, saying "he just got over to sleep with you, and then disappeared again. He even had rejected to give you his number, doesn't it make you angry in any way?"

"He's just an object for me too," was the brunette's answer with an eye-roll. Yes, she was displeased by his rejection, and she wanted to forget that embarrassing moment forever as it surprised herself how silly she had acted afterward just because of some guy...

"No Judy, he's not! You kinda start to like him, accept it already!" The blonde stated with raising tone of annoyance as she also got tired of her friend's denying. "Please reject _him_ next time when he asks for sex again! He doesn't deserve it!"

"Well, he's a doctor and helps people full-time," she answered and moved her orbs away, playing with her hair by tangling them around her finger.

The blue eyes' lids lowered when she spoke as a cold fact, "he's a phenomenon that was set into a system he's forced to live in order to be alright."

"Geez, why are you so angry anyway?" Judy looked back at her. It really became uncomfortable to justify her own actions in front of her friend.

Quinn's brows turned into frustration and she responded in little hysteria, "because this guy annoys me to death how he treats _you, me_ and any other person! God, he's so arrogant, he-he's like mold! Thinks he can appear everywhere and being annoying and disgusting whenever he wants! I-I went to the hospital because he had convinced me to, and it _was_ a little uncomfortable, but I was okay with that too because I thought he was not _that_ bad! He at least listened to my jokes! But then I found-"

"Quinn, I think you really need some rest." Her face was so tired looking, almost inviting the brunette to prognose a cold for tomorrow.

Leaning back with folded arms, Quinn stared grumpily into space. "If I ever get into an accident and need surgery, please decline his help."

"Yeah yeah, I'll do, and if they say there's no other doctor, I either set them on fire or let you die, get it," Judy said flippantly as she got back on her feet.

"Right."

Quinn didn't like to be upset. She was rarely that angry, and she was also forgiving people pretty soon as she saw no sense in keeping up negative energy in her daily life. But that was before she met someone so shameless, she even felt satisfied in pulling her mood down, letting her anger out on him. The more she thought about Law, the more she got sick of his cocky face. It was unbelievable for herself that she had enjoyed talking to him sometimes as she felt he was one of the minority to listen to her random subjects, _even_ though his responses were rather flat and small.

Quinn pouted her lips a little. "Why are people like that? Why can't everyone just being friendly and nice?"

Judy smiled slightly and taught her, her own words the girl had said once, "because the world's a colorful mix of good people like you, and bad people like me. Without the bad, the good wouldn't be any special."

"You're not bad, you're just a slut."

Placing her hands on her hips, Judy said in a correcting tone, "I prefer 'a woman that enjoys her time without caring about people's opinion', but thanks."

Quinn smiled at her. "Slut."

"A proud slut that harms no one."

"Except for her friend as she has to bear all the guys you bring home," she answered then joyful with a finger up to make her intervention clear.

That smiling image of the blonde was comforting Judy. She really didn't like to see her being so mad as breaking a rather positive person was depressive to everyone. Somehow was the affection bigger by people like her, because every time something bad was pulling Quinn down, it had to be _really_ concerning, or otherwise she wouldn't be so serious about it. Satisfied about getting her back to smiling, Judy walked back to her room after turning the TV off. "Good night, Quinn."

"Good night, Miss pomegranate."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Sabo made his appearance~! Writing Law being an arse is kinda fun btw lol._


	14. Badittude

**14\. Badittude**

Law was tired. Physically and mentally.

"Oh dear, don't tell me you haven't had enough sleep last night," Dr. Dillan said as she passed his desk in the office.

His eyes were closed as he sat there with his head sunken into his hand, groaning quietly and muttering, "I'm done with this job."

She looked at the watch around her wrist. "It's 1 AM, why are you already here?"

In his sluggish posture, the young man straightened back and leaned relaxed against the chair, turning on it to face his coworker with a somewhat annoyed and dead face. "Three weeks night shift and now back to day shift. For fellow spontaneous uncertainty, I gonna quit."

Dr. Dillan smiled with a small laugh. "You'll get used to it. I've been working for over ten years in this hospital now, and my first three years I was complaining too."

"Your statement doesn't contribute to reducing my stress."

Putting her hands into the pockets of her white coat, the female doctor passed him again and told flippantly, "hey, if you're working over the day, please avoid scaring the children to easter like last year. As long as they don't shift you again."

"I don't know what you mean by 'scaring' them," he answered, his gaze following her to the coffee machine.

She poured the hot brown liquid into a mug and turned casual around with a lovely but humorous smile. "You know what I mean, being you."

"They ran into me, I did nothing wrong."

"You could've at least smile as you took their apology."

Law got up from his chair and left the room wordless, a little miffed by her attitude. He had no nerve to hear from anyone what he should have done or how he should behave. That was his and not their business. Did everyone had to complain those days?

Next month easter... Again an event that left him wondering why all the stress? Bunches of school kids that painted easter eggs, strolling around the corridors to hide them for other bedridden and ill kids. Wasn't it enough to buy some prior painted ones and have a nurse in a bunny costume that walked around and shared them?

Of course, it was not unusual for him to feel kind of exhausted or annoyed. He either was extremely laid-back or extremely stressed. Maybe it were just multiple things that added up like his work hours and lack of sleep, or maybe he was just exaggerating with his mood that time.

He had still over half an hour of his break left, so Law changed from his scrubs to his casual clothes and left the building. In town, he always had that one little shop he bought his Onigiris from. It was small, less occupied and had everything you need to live. Being often there, he never paid attention to the peanut shop across the street though, which name was really plain 'The Peanut Shop'. Just as it said, it were peanuts they sold in various creative forms he could never come up himself. The outer interior of the shop was not really eye-catching and made it forgivable that he hadn't noticed it once before, but wondrous that he did one day.

That blonde was allergic to peanuts. It was just an extremely random fact that he remembered as he passed the shop, got him thinking it as 'her chamber of death'. If he remembered correctly had they had a little boy suffering from peanuts once and died on the stretcher as the paramedics shifted him in. So many natural death causers were on that world, from heart diseases to dangerous allergies, but the blonde was just as bubbly as no one. Not that Law would talk it bad to have a positive attitude, but for him, she seemed to be _too_ positive, thus careless.

However, it was not his business anymore, he shouldn't care about her in any way, let alone wasting a thought on that girl. Quinn Heady had been an amusing variety in the bunch of people he was looking for in the hospital, but not enough to be affected of her rejection. Work shouldn't be amusing, either good-looking.

Walking into the little shop to buy his snack before returning to the hospital, he heard a familiar voice calling him. "Law?"

As he turned to it, it was the brunette he occasionally slept with.

"I haven't expected to see you here," Judy said with a smile and walked up to him.

"Dito," was his flat response and he went to the Onigiris, grabbing two.

She was following the young man like it was the most casual thing. "What are you doing here? Are you heading home later?"

"I'm having my break right now and gonna return to work."

"Oh, weren't you night shifting?"

"Occurrence."

"Ah okay." Judy then became a little unsure with her voice. "Law... I have a question."

"I listen," he said and his flatness made everything weirder for the woman.

She furrowed her brows a little as she asked, "you made Quinn mad, what happened?"

Law wasn't expecting that his behavior concerned the blonde that much, and it was something between amusement and disinterest he felt. With a slight smirk, he asked her back, "she was complaining to you but wasn't precise?"

"Well, not certainly," the brunette replied with her eyes shifting half-lidded to the side. "She didn't say much and when I reduced my request to one word, she answered 'badittude'."

Badittude? Seriously? He found it... as always amusing but held his emotions back, answering only with a small sly smile. "I did nothing wrong, just my job."

"But-" Judy stopped and her eyes made a round inside the shop as she was unsure how to approach him. She knew Law was a little hard to reach, somewhat mysterious and all those personal unreachable issues, and it went a little against her pride to even try solving the problem by piercing him with the same question that long already. "Quinn's rarely that mad at someone, I thought you could help out by telling what you've said."

"I wouldn't know why that should be helpful."

"Maybe she misunderstood you..."

"Maybe I misunderstood _her,"_ he replied with some mockery. "As her friend, you should be on _her_ side."

"I _am_ on her side!"

 _Sure you are_ , he thought in sarcasm and walked off. For him, the issue was over. If that blonde was mad at him, she should keep concerning her mind with it, he didn't care, he didn't need her to like him.

"Wait, Law," her friend stopped him. Geez, that she really had to run after a guy, how unnecessary was that please? Narrowing her eyebrows a little, Judy pulled herself together and changed her tone to a more arrogant and ordering sound. "I think this is not funny. You should apologize to her." Being bitchy was the last thing she wanted to in front of a guy she was interested in, but for Quinn's sake.

Law turned back to her and raised displeased a brow. "Are you telling me what I'm supposed to do?"

She placed her hands on her hips, talking quite provocative. "Yes, I do."

"Judy. I do not well in taking orders," Law said and stepped slowly closer to her until he stopped in front of the brunette, telling coldly into her face, "stop annoying me."

Judy paused by his closeness and tried to stay in her confident posture. She loved the scent of his aftershave and those fierce, dominating, gray eyes. "I... You should stop telling _me_ what to do. I have the right to voice my thoughts, and I'm not defiant enough to listen to someone telling me to shut my mouth."

God, he wanted to _stuff_ her mouth.

Easy.

Leaning a little down, Law told quietly to her ear, "9 PM at your place, I want you naked."

Judy's cheeks blushed lightly and she looked nervous to the side, her arms sunken down from her confidence. His voice, it was making her weak, but she tried to fight against it. "I have to reject..."

Knowing that she wanted it too, just by the wording 'have to', he smirked and placed one of his hand gently to her hip what startled her a little. Yes, she wanted more of those, his touch, his odor, his voice, his taste, she felt like doing it right away.

"See you," he said as he straightened back and left the spot.

* * *

The last hours before school would end were always those where the kids went rage. They were tired, impatient and always for scrap.

"You idiot, who said I can't use my hands?!" A little boy with green hair shouted annoyed to his classmate Sanji.

That one shouted in the same manner back at him. "I said that moss-head!"

"Just because you're a bad thrower?!"

The conflict right then was simple. While Quinn was standing at the side and took notes, her class was playing Rugby in the gym, and as always it were the same two that annoyed each other.

"The rules of Rugby said you can only _kick_ to the front," Luffy, who was a substitute at the moment, stated as he was watching the two quarreling.

And of course, Quinn did know that too and sighed with a somewhat fed up face. _Those brats_ , she thought and walked up to them as they caused a pause to the game due to their little argument. She was tired of that because it had been the _fourth_ time for them to have been in disagreement during PE lesson.

With her hands, Quinn held the two apart by their heads as they wanted to start a physical fight. "Enough for now. Zoro has made a mistake, but nothing to get wild on."

"Told you," Sanji said and folded his arms.

The green haired boy, Zoro, gritted his teeth and turned away from him. "I have no time for this kid's stuff."

Mentally, the young teacher was already rolling her eyes. She wasn't sure if she should find it cute or annoying that her students were behaving like they were adults. Pretty much depended on the situation she guessed, and in that case, it was rather bulky.

"Zoro," Quinn said and stopped him. "Don't be a bad loser."

"Yeah, just be a loser," Sanji exclaimed from behind, and Quinn put her finger to his lips to seal them, turning his cheeks pink. "I'm sorry, Miss Heady!"

Keeping her attention back to the green haired boy as she was squatting to the kids' eye level, she told him, "losing to someone is no disgrace. Right now, you know you did something wrong, and if you stand to it, no one will take that amiss. That's what you learn in your dojo as well, right?"

Zoro quirked his lips, miffed about his teacher saying the truth and about his blonde classmate. "I won't apologize to that guy."

"And what if he apologized as well for being rude to you?"

"Huuh? But Miss Heady...!" Sanji said.

Quinn got up again and looked at the two. "Don't have a badittude."

"Badittude?" The two repeated confused, but not impressed.

"That's a bad attitude," she responded. "And now, apologize to each other."

They looked at one another in displeasure and their lips twitched with the hard attempt to do as their teacher said. But the two eventually managed to defeat their pride and spoke out their apologies, making the game carrying on.

Quinn sighed in relief and walked back to the bench, sitting down next to Luffy. "I'm surprised you remember the rule," she told him as he was normally deaf when it came to rules.

"Yeah, my big brother used to be in the rugby team when he was in high school, so I know the rules!"

"Oh, you didn't tell me you have a big brother."

Luffy smiled with pride. "I have two."

"Two? Really?" Quinn said with surprise, overdoing it a little as she talked to a child.

He nodded and told, "but they have other mothers though."

Now, _that_ was really surprising. "Huh? They both were adopted by Dadan too?"

"No, only Ace, but when he was younger, Sabo was with him every day so we're practically brothers."

"Sabo?" Quinn's brows lifted as he said that name since she had heard it just a couple days ago. "He doesn't happen to have blonde hair?"

"Yeah, he has," Luffy responded and started to tell her with some excitement, "Ace's a traveler and rarely home. Sabo occasionally returns, but he's living with other people from his work and travels too. When I'm old enough, I wanna conquer the world as well!"

What a funny coincidence, the world was smaller than she thought. Especially the city they lived in. "Oh, but Sabo's home now, right? I saw him last time."

"Whaaaat?! You saw him?!" The little boy suddenly exclaimed in huge surprise and jumped up. "Is that really true?!"

Oh crap, looked like that was supposed to be a secret. Quinn placed her hands to her front and waved frantically with a wry smile. "Ah no no, that was just a joke."

"Hey! Why are you yelling at Miss Heady!?" From another corner, Sanji shouted to what Luffy shouted in response, "she saw my big brother in town!"

"Ah no..." What a great job. Now she could only hope that this Sabo guy wouldn't show up the next few weeks, or she would have to deal with a really mad Luffy and perhaps unpleased Sabo.

 **...**

"You're too slow, Miss Heady!" Quinn's students shouted as they saw the young woman walking up to them after quite some time. They have been waiting for her to be done with her stuff so that they could return together back to the school building.

"I'm sorry," she said with a smile and unlocked the door of the gym. Quinn had distracted herself too much in her thoughts, thinking about Law and the last time in the hospital. She had wondered if she had exaggerated that moment, but repeating the situation and his behavior over and over again, she had come to the conclusion that she did nothing wrong.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

However, the gymnasium was not far from the actual school building and clearly in the sight of the bunch, just five minutes walk away. Strolling with the group relaxed back, a young blonde man appeared to their front, walking towards them.

Somehow...

"SABOOO!"

Quinn watched Luffy racing to the familiar face, jumping right onto him. Yeah, she knew that scar, how could she forget such significant mark on somebody's face?

Hanging onto the smiling young man, Luffy complained, "why didn't you say you're back?!"

"What are you talking? I just came home," Sabo lied and tried to keep an innocent smile.

"But Miss Heady said, she had seen you before, so don't lie to me!"

"Miss Heady?"

 _Oh crap...,_ Quinn thought and the bunch stopped as they stood in front of him.

"Sorry...," she said wryly and forced a smile at the guy.

He looked at her and his face fell to light thoughts, recognizing some familiarity as well. "Ah, you're..."

"I-I dropped your phone..." She used the rather uncomfortable reminder. Puking on people, dropping their phones, god she had to work on her first impression.

"Oh, right," Sabo said then and turned back to smiling. Realizing the coincidence as well, he paused for a quarter of a second before he pointed out, "wow wait, you are his teacher?"

"Yeah, Heady."

"What funny coincidence. I just wanted to surprise him, we haven't seen each other in six months."

Shifting her eyes unsure and in guilt to the side, Quinn said quite unhappy herself, "I'm sorry, it slipped out my tongue, I didn't know... but he _was_ surprised!"

Sabo sighed and put Luffy back down. "Yeaah... you know, it's my little brother we're talking about and... if I don't get along with his teachers, it's a difficult thing and..."

Oh god, that conversation was going into a direction she didn't like. She knew she had missed her chance of good impression on that guy. But he hadn't been home for six months, he had no right to talk, right?

Seeing her tightened lips residing on a somewhat nervous face like a child was ready to get scold with so much shame and regret, Sabo snickered. "I was just kidding."

Huh? Her eyes turned blank and a little confused. That was not what she had expected him to say as his acting had been pretty on point.

He held his open hand to his mouth to form a wall, the back showing to the inside as he whispered, "but I've been here for quite a while now, don't tell him."

"Oh, uhm, okay?" Quinn was still a bit out of place.

Luffy grabbed her shirt and pulled it a little. "Miss Heady, what are we waiting for?"

"Oh, yeah, uhh, let's get back," she said somewhat flustered. "And uhm..."

"I'm actually here to pick him up," Sabo explained as the woman looked a bit helpless at him.

Woah, he was just like the girl she met in the rain back then, somehow giving her positive vibes and all the things she liked. "Oh I see, yeah, his stuff is still in the classroom."

Deciding to march with the group then, Sabo looked down to his little brother and asked, "wanna ride on my back?"

"Hey, I'm not a kid anymore!" Was Luffy's reaction, rather displeased by his question.

 _Oh dear...,_ Quinn thought as she watched the scene. She found it extremely cute, it left her speechless as it had been a while that she interacted with some male that lovely.

"Sure you're not," Sabo answered with shameless sarcasm, which the kid couldn't understand anyway. "How's school buddy?"

Luffy remained quiet about that question, in fact, stated it to be a boring topic. Just like Quinn knew him, so she interfered as a teacher and told the young man smiling, "now and then he's in a brawl, but he's a good boy."

"In a brawl? I hope those are legit."

From the side, another of her student jumped in and claimed loudly, "and I, Usopp, am the one to always save him from the bunch of punks!"

"What are you talking? I can handle it myself," Luffy said calmly with a somewhat annoyed and confused face.

Quinn didn't bother to look at them as her lids lowered half over her eyeballs, telling them monotonously, "what are _you_ talking? No one but the teacher handles anything."

"I see you have fun," Sabo said with gladness. "Don't trouble Miss Henry, alright?"

"Heady," the young woman corrected but got ignored as Luffy shouted back at him, irked by his brother's way of communication. "Don't talk to me like I'm a kid!"

"Wow, this guy should be his brother?" Somewhere from behind, Nami said, not believing that they were related in any way.

And she got agreement with her classmates, Zoro stating, "he behaves more, right?"

 _Some brats' judgments...,_ Sabo thought with a wry smile as he overheard their little conversation like they were so mature themselves. It was funny to hear stuff like that from a bunch of two graders. And they kept talking about it. Anyway, he turned his attention back to Quinn. _"_ So, you're his homeroom teacher?"

"Ah no no, only art and PE," she responded with her head shaking in negation.

"Is he doing well?"

Quinn smiled quite weird. "Honest?"

"I wouldn't ask then."

"PE's fine, art would be fine too if he's not constantly eating during class and accidentally destroying his classmates' works."

Hearing that and already expecting it as it was just how he knew him, the young man sighed. "Hahh Luffy..."

"But don't worry, otherwise he's doing enough to get through school... I guess..." Quinn started to imagine his nearer future and narrowed her eyes a little in thoughts, having some unpleasant pictures in her mind. "God, if he's in middle school... household arts, he'll surely eat instea-" She cut herself off right as she noticed those to be negative statements, looking over to the guy and waved it off in apology. "Ah, I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to judge a little kid, ...Luffy, ...your brother, ...anyone!"

"Ah no it's fine, I have the same guesses as you," he responded relaxed.

"Great big brother."

Her sudden sarcasm was so obvious, he got a little confused about the switch. "Huh?"

"Is this your confidence in an 8 years old boy? I mean, I'm nonpartisan, but you as his brother should've m-" Quinn stopped again within the sentence as she saw Sabo was just blankly staring at her, worries that he would misunderstand her grew in her mind so that she had to explain herself right away. "Ahh no! I was just kidding! Okay, actually was a part true though, but you know what I mean, this friends-family-trust-in-someone thing and- ahh sorry! I-I mean, uh-" She looked embarrassed away. "God, it's okay, I just keep quiet."

Sabo grinned a little amused and said, "It's fine, I get your point."

Covering her pink face in shame, she glanced insecure over to him through the gaps of her fingers. "Please don't think I'm an incompetent and mean teacher..."

"If he listens to you, I won't doubt your competence."

He was... different... to Law. She did a direct comparison because it were only a few days ago when she had met the doctor last, thus the difference somehow noticeable. She liked meeting kind and good-mooded people, and Sabo had unambiguously more charisma than him. Well, Law actually got no charisma.

Thinking about Koala, she wondered if she'll meet more people like the two. It's really refreshing since Quinn was actually not the one to socialize much with people. She was neither too shy nor too busy, just not good at meeting new people and making friends as she lived in her own little world. Especially men were on her death list, since her ex-boyfriend; and due to Law, she almost lost hope in the male gender.

 _This must be positive karma..._

* * *

 _ **Zerom1v & Guest** \- I think the taking clothes off thing or not depends on the doctor. In my hospital, they ask to take off your shirt completely while with another doctor I know, it's the same but female patients get a cloth to cover their chest._

 _Anyway, **Zerom1v** , thanks for pointing out my goof, I 've corrected them :)_

 _ **Sarge1130** \- Every time you write a question in your comments, I'm unsure if it's rhetoric or to me haha. And 'cockblocker' had made me laugh hahaha._

 _However, thanks for your reviews guys~!_


	15. Two moods

**15\. Two moods**

After a long work day, Quinn finally headed home around 6PM. Even it was raining terribly as always, meeting someone like Sabo had brought positive energy to her so that she would consider the day as a good day, which little water from the evening sky couldn't destroy.

It was not long though that she was alone as she saw some guy in miserable posture, strolling into her direction on the empty street. Quinn furrowed her brows as she saw the sluggish man in the rain, and was for this time even a little anxious, different to when she had bumped into Koala. If he was just a depressive, who needed a helping hand, or some psycho, that was a riddle until he passed her closely on the pavement.

He had a black eye and an open wound on his lips, also a few other bruises on his face. One hand was holding another wound on his forehead that was bleeding in the rain, while the other one grasped a bomber hat. The guy appeared a little disoriented, hence she stopped and turned around to see him swaying somewhat pitiful his way. Quinn was uncertain if she should help him. She wanted but she was scared to the same.

Drowned in the rain, the stranger supported himself against a streetlamp, what got her compassion right away. "Hey, should I call the ambulance...?" Quinn said and walked carefully up to the guy. He was still young, something in his mid-twenties she guessed.

The guy turned around and looked at her. "Uhh, no no it's alright, but thanks."

As he began to move again, he tripped and fell down, made the blonde hurrying to him with the umbrella. "Y-you're sure?!"

"Ah yeah, I have a friend, who's a doctor, he'll treat me for free," he said and got up again.

Looking at his wounds, she noticed how big the one on his forehead was, and it quite worried her. "Where's that friend now? Should I bring you to him?"

"Ah no no, he must be at work now, so I'm heading home first! Don't worry!"

Quinn didn't understand why all people were declining help from strangers. Was it their pride that made them refuse? She thought there was nothing reprehensible to it, so she continued offering her help. "But you can't even walk properly, is your home far?"

"No, it's just a ten minutes walk from here, I'll be alright but thanks!"

She didn't like discussing too much against a person's modesty but felt like she had to then. "But if something's happening to you on the way, I'll feel bad because it could've been prevented!"

"I'll be fi-"

"What if you're dying on the way? What if you break together right on the street when a car comes?! I'll be forever damning myself for letting a person in need out of my sight! Irresponsible! Irresponsible! Irresponsible!"

He blushed a little by her uproar, feeling flattered but embarrassed. "Ok ok, I'll be uhh grateful if you help me home...!"

"Good boy!" She said determined but corrected herself right away as she noticed her absolute wrong word choice. "I-I'm sorry! I mean, good ch-choice...! Let's bring you home wounded guy! I mean, yeah, insert your name and- ahh, I'm sorry, I'm just being stupid! Just call me Quinn!"

"My friends call me Penguin."

Again, her eyes grew in surprise just as they did when she met Koala. "Penguin?! What silly nickname, it's so cute!"

He rubbed shyly the back of his head. "Yeah... I like penguins and somehow this happened."

"Awesome! I always wanted a cute nickname too, but giving yourself nicknames is kind of a no-go..."

"Well, you do something to deserve one, not?"

She pouted her lips in awareness, but disappointment. "Yeah... I used to be called 'Clown' back then, but it's not cute..."

Penguin laughed a little. "And what made you deserving it?"

"Jokes," she said and began to tell one right away, "why's Peter Pan always flying?" He looked at her and she grinned sassily. "Because he neverlands."

"So, I guess 'Clown' was at the end not that bad meant?"

Quinn reacted instantly in defense, looking unhappy up at him. "Nooo! They always make fun of me even I just mean well and want to make them smile! I can't be the only one who finds them funny, right?! I even got more, how about 'how do you call a deer without eyes'?! - 'I have no eye-deer!' I think it's funny...! Am I that unfunny?!"

"Uhh, I think they are funny!" He tried to calm her and smiled.

"Noooo way!" She exclaimed. That month must have been the best month ever since she met three strangers she somehow sympathized with right away. "I like you Penguin!"

"Uhh...! Thanks...!" The guy responded shyly. He then stopped and pointed to a building. "Uhm, I'm living over there. I think I'll be alright from here, thanks for taking care of me."

"Shouldn't I treat your wounds a bit until your friend comes? Or can you do it by yourself?"

He gritted his teeth a little in nervosity. Of course, he would _love_ to invite her inside, but their apartment was a big mess and just unreasonable for a woman. "I'll be fine!"

"Let me at least take you inside, it's still pouring like hell," she said insistingly.

Penguin found her too cute as that he could decline. "Uhh, okay, if you got the time...!"

She smiled. "I got plenty of times."

Continuing to move, Penguin pulled his cell phone out and typed a quick message for his roommate, ' _HOT CHICK IN 5 MINS! CLEAN UP!_ '

The two talked a little on their way while the guy was extremely procrastinating until they reached the small apartment. Penguin wasn't sure if Shachi was even home as he hadn't responded to the message, but as he unlocked the door, the redhead smiled weird at him and thumbed up as he stood suspiciously in the middle of the improvised cleaned room. All the rubbish was hidden under the bed, from empty packages to porn, just like dirty dishes and anything else around the sink inside a big garbage bag that he also hid under the bed. He eventually had broken some plates. Dirty clothes were stuffed under the blanket on the top bunk, which was to Penguin's misfortune, his bed.

"Oh, Shachi, you're home!" He said a little awkward to his friend.

Seeing his condition, the guy's face changed to shock. "What the heck happened to you?!"

"Just fought with the neighbor at work."

"That bastard next door?!"

"Yeah, but I'm okay. More important!" He turned to the blonde next to him. "This is Quinn. Quinn, my roommate, Shachi. She helped me through the rain."

"Penguin is anything but okay! He was pretty disoriented on his way back here, and I didn't help him because it was _raining_ ," the young woman stated displeased.

"Oh Penguin, you irresponsible liar," Shachi scold him sarcastically and earned some annoyance from his friend.

However, he _did_ invite Quinn to get inside after seeing the room looked reasonable enough, and she _did_ treat his wounds as good as she could, to his joy, earning in return some jealousy from Shachi.

"Uhm Quinn," he said from the side. "Are you thirsty? We can offer you coke or water!"

"Ah, I'm fine, but thanks," she replied and her eyes fell to the big flatscreen in the room as she had turned her head to him. "That's... fancy."

"It is, right?" Shachi proudly grabbed the remoter and turned it on. "This is our treasure! It's so multi HD, you can even see the pores of the news reporter! There's a game called One Piece that released last month where you have to conquer the sea as a pirate and geez, the water looks so freaking good animated, almost real."

In the back, Penguin shook quietly his head in panic, showing his friend to stop talking about the TV or any video games in order not to scare the woman off. It was not too rare that he bored women in the bar with his nerdy talk about electronics so that Penguin always had to give him signs when he had to stop.

But to both surprises, Quinn responded differently than expected. "Oh, I know this game. You have to build a crew and stuff, right?"

"You know it?!" They were positive shocked.

"Yeah, a few of my students talked a lot about it these days. Sounds quite fun."

The two guys exchanged fierce but silent looks that yelled at each other ' _she's mine!_ '

Quinn, in the end, happened to stay a little longer than she wanted. A little meant pretty much around three hours, playing video games with the two. It wasn't her imagined way of making friends, but she really liked those two right away, though they behaved weirdly sometimes and even argued about things like kids.

The rain meanwhile had stopped and she looked shocked on her phone as the time said after nine. "Ouh! I have to head home guys!"

"Already?" Shachi asked.

"What are you talking idiot? Look how late it is, of course she had to," his friend commented.

The young woman got up and put her shoes and coat on. "I really had fun today, maybe we see another time again."

"Should we call a cab for you?" Penguin asked then to what she only shook her head and told it to be fine, she remembered a bus stop nearby.

Quinn then left their place not long after the announcement, and the two were looking after her until she vanished from their view. Getting back inside they sighed in tiredness and relief that everything went alright.

"God, Law will never believe what chick we got," Shachi said with a proud grin and leaned back against the wall in relaxation.

"You can't just tell him. It's enough that I've got _you_ in my way, but the moment she'll see him, she'll drop her panties right away!"

Law was always the one to interfere in both's business with women, unwanted or not. They envied him for his looks and skill to flirt a woman into sex by doing in comparison to them, nothing. Not that he was always interested vice versa, but just to be sure, they were so going to not tell him.

"Uhh, Pen. She forgot her umbrella here."

Penguin looked at the polka dotted transparent item. "One more chance to see her again."

* * *

Quinn rolled her eyes as she saw the yellow sports car in front of her apartment, knowing exactly what was going on again. She was disappointed because she had told Judy to reject him if he tried to sleep with her again. Standing in front of the vehicle, she squatted a little down to look inside, just to be sure it was really Law's car and yes, that bobblehead doll was surely unique.

Entering the apartment quietly, she only heard the incomprehensible talking of Judy inside her bedroom, made her rolling her eyes one more. She ignored the fact that the two were just next door, and quietly got out of her shoes, walking back to her room.

At least she hadn't caught them in action again, that would've been harder to bear. Looking into the mirror and facing her own small annoyance, Quinn smirked at herself, leaving the blue orbs untouched. _They should do whatever they want._

It was quite late that moment, almost ten and she wondered why Law was even here and not at work. Perhaps had he a day off, and she was amazed how he used that one to get 'any' girl laid. How much was he interested in Judy? How much did he care for her? She knew Judy didn't care a bit about the guys she slept with as long as they were handsome and good in bed, but thinking that she had some more interest in the current case, Quinn wasn't sure if it would see it as Karma if Law wouldn't be interested in anything beyond. He appeared like some horny guy that targeted pretty women, but he kept coming back to this apartment for more.

Too many thoughts on two completely weird and anti-bonding people that it became enough for Quinn, made her quitting it in tiredness. Why was she even caring? Because she didn't want her dearest friend to become heartbroken? Someone should have thrown her into cold water a long time ago anyway.

Walking out again, the blonde bumped into her friend who was just leaving her room as well to take a shower. The brown eyes turned to uncomfortable surprise as they faced each other, and she pulled the door behind her immediately but quiet close. "Quinn, since when are you back?"

"Just a few minutes ago."

"It's pretty late, I was worried," Judy said as she looked from the hall out of the window in the living room, seeing the darkness outside.

Quinn smiled a little. "I was busy, nothing special."

"I, you know... inside there-"

"It's okay, I saw his car outside."

Judy's eyes wandered down to the floor, she felt weird to hold eye contact with her. And she felt stupid as a friend.

"Judy, it's okay. I don't care if you continue to sleep with him," Quinn stated in a calming voice. "He's just one of the thousands of other guys you're sleeping with, just more often, but he's not _my_ business."

Looking back up, Judy furrowed her brows a little and felt bad for making her saying that. It was exactly the same thought she was carrying, but she had a bad conscience in Law's case because her friend had never been that affected by a random guy. "I don't wanna sound like an ass but this is what I wanted to tell you too, but I'm still sorry and-"

"There's nothing to be sorry," Quinn interrupted her when she noticed the woman's discomfort. Judy was always bad in apologies, she was too proud, stubborn and narrow-minded for that; and as her friend, Quinn learned to handle and accept it. "Trafalgar's not the first guy you brought home that I don't like. I was just oversensitive because yeah... I saw him more often than the other dudes. My bad."

"So, you're not mad anymore?" Judy asked carefully.

With a small smile, Quinn shook her head. "It's okay, I'm good."

"If he ever touches you, just tell me, I'll bite his penis off."

"Don't worry about _me_ ," the blonde responded with a brow rose. "I gonna cut his head off if he's harming _you_."

Done hugging her friend swiftly, Judy strolled to the bathroom. "Alright girl, I gonna take a shower then."

"Yo."

Quinn looked after her and her smile faltered as the brunette disappeared behind the door. Everything was way more stressful in her head than she wished it to be, but digesting her own words again, she really tried to care less about the issue between them. She might feel more personal disturbed by Law, but only because he had pulled off an extremely arrogant behavior towards her, otherwise it was matterless.

Just another of thousands.

Walking to the kitchen, she made herself a cup of tea and sat down at the table, putting her cell phone out to check some random local news. In the small city they lived in was nothing exciting and made it pretty much a boring place. No wonder that Luffy's brothers chose to leave. She rather preferred to live in a metropolis or travel as well.

Thinking about his brothers..., Quinn wondered what Sabo's profession was that made him traveling for so long with only occasional returns into town. Now that he was back, she also wondered how long he would stay. Maybe he was just back for short, maybe for longer. The picture of him interacting with Luffy popped back to her memories and made her smile into space. It had been cute, no doubt, she liked it. Men that were good with children, yes, she liked that.

"What conjured that smile into your face?"

Law's voice pulled her out of her bubble and she straightened back from the table. Without her noticing it, he had crept out of the room and was suddenly standing casually with his hands in his pockets on the other side of the table. His sight made her questioning the volume of her previous conversation with Judy. Had he heard that?

"Trafalgar, what unpleasant surprise to have you here," Quinn said with a neutral look.

"Miss Heady."

She looked backatn the screen of her phone, treating his attendance rather semi-important. "So, how was it? Had a good time?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

"That's nice to hear."

Law eyed her different way of behavior towards him, seeing nothing of her 'friendly hosting' like she had used to do. That obvious grumpiness pleased his need for entertainment after sex, if not making him tickling out more of that. The procedure was always the same of him sleeping with the brunette and talking afterwards with the blonde. "I've heard you're mad?"

"Mad is a little over the top. I would call it genuinely concerned."

Still, her eyes were away from him so that he couldn't avoid a little smirk. "l find it cute that my words have that much impact on your comfort."

Quinn moved her dead eyes wordless up to him before she turned the screen down to actually pay his presence attention, though displeased. "Don't interpret too much into this."

"Just as much as I see and hear."

Frowning, she tried to focus back on her phone. "I would offer you a glass water now, but I can remember to have told you that I only host guys I get along with."

"I'm thanking though that you've considered it," he replied with his sly smile in mockery, just to see her looking annoyed back up at him. Well, she couldn't tell him she hadn't, why else had she brought that to topic?

"I haven't," was her still expected reply. Quinn put her phone on the table and leaned back. "Should I tell you something?"

"Just do."

"Do you know why I feel hard being mad at Judy for still sleeping with you?"

Right, Law indeed had heard that conversation from before - which was quite funny. Quinn was pretty forgiving and was apparently a better friend, though he rather went with Judy's logic. Between him and the blonde was no business, at least not anymore. He also found it funny when they had mentioned him to be not allowed to touch her, did he look like a rapist or what?

"I really don't know what _magic_ you're using on her, or if you hypnotized her in any way with your... 'skills', but - congratulations, you're the first man to have got her to that stadium of sentimentalism. And though, I can't tell her how disappointed I am as she wouldn't understand anyway since she doesn't even understand herself."

"I'm sorry for that. Happens."

Quinn's eyes shifted annoyed to the side. "Wow, and I just told you that she likes you, only to get a disinterested reaction in return."

Law grabbed the chair in front of him and took casual the seat parallel to her. "I've told her already, it's nothing serious."

All his provocative smiles and smirks, Quinn disliked them more and more, and thought it made him looking kind of dumb. She returned some sarcasm with her mouth corners pointing upwards when he was staring at her, pulling an imaginary piece of paper out of her pocket and pretended to shift it over to him across the table. "Here this is for you, a coupon for charisma school."

Law couldn't cease his amused slyness, while his eyes appeared pretty relaxed and glared at the unhappy girl. Leaning a bit forwards then, his chin rested on his fist with his elbow against the wooden surface. He just kept his glare on her and observed how her brows narrowed a little more the longer he was doing it.

"You probably find it funny to break someone's heart," Quinn said what she interpreted by his behavior.

"Never really happened before," he claimed calmly.

"I would've wonder anyway how someone can fall for your like."

"Believe me, I sometimes asking the same question," Law said and leaned comfortably back into his chair, crossing his legs while his arm dangled from the backrest. "Women are weird. It just needs one night and they are head over heels in 'love' with you."

Quinn's expression fell into confusion. "I thought you never broke someone's heart before?"

"Breaking their hearts... I wouldn't know if you could word it like that after such short time of shallow acquaintance," he said with some discreet ridicule. "Normally, I avoid seeing those again. I'm not the type to sadden anyone on purpose."

For Quinn, it sounded like bullshit from his mouth. "And why do you keep going with Judy?"

"Because it's fun."

"It's _fun_?" She queried in very big displeasure.

"I somehow find bigger pleasure when I'm here than elsewhere."

Was he kidding with her? He didn't really mean he found it funny to let Judy being so submissive to him, did he? Whereby she imagined him to be always the dominating anyway as it fit his character, hence he probably talked about something else, which was quite obvious for her then and let her responding in light sarcasm, "oh, nice. Both are 'incredible' in bed, why don't you just date already? You're very much alike, so you could spare her and me the stress if you just take this time seriously."

"No thanks."

"Arse."

"Miss Heady, you're getting rude," Law said smirking.

Quinn rolled her eyes with an annoyed sigh. "Excuse my french, but you're an absolute stupid, disgusting and horny bastard."

"Miss Heady."

"You're like the raisins in a nut mix, those that are always left behind because no one wants them," she said in some hysteria, looking angry at him.

He raised a brow. "And what do _you_ choose to eat? Nuts?"

Realizing her absolute bad comparison, she answered uncomfortable, "none..."

"You just shot yourself in the feet."

His smart-assing irked her pretty much, thus she came with another simile. "Y-you're like a roll cheese! Maybe nice to look at, but stinky as hell!"

"I take the first as a compliment."

"God, we both know, you're _not_ ugly, it would be stupid and defiant when I say that. With the comparison, I just meant the same as judging a book by its cover! The outside is different to the inside, and yes, of course I know cheese doesn't smell only from the inside, and not all cheese types smell bad, and- ...Maaan, I don't have to explain myself, you know what I mean!"

Saying that, talking bad about him, Quinn found it outrageous that he saw rather amusement in her complaints and didn't take her seriously at all but chose to carry on his smirking. She looked at him in forced silence while her annoyance grew by every second their eyes were locked, her cheeks increasing to a light pink shade until she blew up. "God, you're an arrogant idiot! You're a male witch! A stupid troll! Stinky cheese! A horny hamster!"

Hearing her last insult, Law's smirk disappeared and got traded with a rose brow. "A horny... _hamster_?"

It changed her mood instantly as he asked, and she responded with a somewhat exciting smile, "oh, ever seen one? Those are so freaking funny and cute. Back then in college, I had a guy living across my room and he was known as Hamster Boy because he had three female hamsters and one male, god I had loved them, but anyway, the male one was sooo horny on the other three and every time he put them out together, the male started to climb each of the females."

He kept listening to her and was surprised how fast her mood could shift.

The more Quinn thought about it, the more were those memories making her laughing a little. "And-and-and, one day he hung out a piece of paper that invited the others to watch 'Hamster Porn', god, I felt so weird to requested for that but otherwise he-"

"Miss Heady, stick with your food similes. It suits you better," he then cut her babbling off.

Noticing her mood switch that hadn't fit the situation at all, she blushed embarrassed and narrowed her brows in anger. "Don't tell me what suits me better...!"

"A ponytail suits you better than a bun, blue suits you better than red, you should be rather a kindergarten teacher, I think you're a dog person as cats are too independent, having a roommate's a good choice in your case, also sneakers suit your chara-"

"Stop it!"

"I tell you whatever I want," Law responded teasingly, enjoying her miffed attitude. He was a little surprised himself that if he wanted, he could go on with the list.

"What does that mean anyway, _rather a kindergarten teacher?!_ "

"No real schedule over the day, free babbling, mothering children, undemanding."

Unamused, the young woman got up from her chair and moved her untouched tea cup to the guy. "You know what? I already thought you're outrageous, but now you're just overdoing it. I know I'm a good elementary school teacher and don't need to hear from anyone with zero social skills that I'm not."

He smiled slyly. "You-"

"No, it's okay, doc, I tolerate your opinion though. Just have this cup of tea and let me rest. It's neither poisoned nor I spat in, so don't worry about that." Leaving it in front of him, Quinn quietly walked back to her room.

Law didn't look after her but kept his eyes on the cup. In the end, she _did_ offer him something to drink, but he felt not satisfied about the little victory. Why was he even thinking of 'victory'? That was no competition in any way, and he supposed to feel more amused about her behavior, but he wasn't. In fact, it irked him that she just had left like that and still had pulled a 'friendly' move to have the last word.

Shortly afterwards, Judy got out of the bathroom and faced his back as he sat alone at the table. She walked in her bathrobe up to him and looked over his shoulder at the cup of tea as well, massaging his neck. "Everything alright?"

His eyes shifted to the side as he noted her presence, and he replied flatly, "yeah."

Having the tea cup standing there, Judy figured that her roommate most probably had made it. It meant nothing though as Quinn sometimes would even offer her enemies something to drink, which act of friendliness she thought to be the scariest. "Did you talk to her?"

"Sort of."

"Was she rude to you?"

"A bit."

Judy sighed. "I'm sorry. We've talked about it and she said she's okay with you being here, and-"

"No, it's okay," Law responded and got up, emptying the tea in one go. He put the cup down and found his amusement again, the longer he had thought about the situation. "I was just a little 'rude' to her in return."

His curled lips and words confused the brunette, made her unsure what to understand. So, Quinn had been rude and he thought it to be fun to reflect that rudeness? Judy had mixed feelings about that guy. "But it was nothing serious?"

"Well, at least not to me," Law said calmly and walked casually to the entrance door. "I'm leaving now."

As he wanted to leave bluntly, the woman stopped him for a moment from closing the door as he had stepped outside. "Will you come over again?"

He looked into the hope behind her eyes, which was almost pushy. Not that he would not consider it, but the blonde was kind of right, it was slowly getting a little too personal within that apartment that he could already count those two women into his circle of acquaintances. "Wait and see."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Please don't confused Quinn with someone every guy wants to bang. Shachi and Penguin are just open for all pretty women out there tehe._

 _ **Zerom1v -** Sort of, more like an adventure between Law and Quinn with events inbetween haha_

 _ **YukikoKitamura66** **-** Glad you're curious about both interactions :D_


	16. Umbrella

**16\. Umbrella**

"Geez, what have you done again?"

In the evening, Law was checking on Penguin's wounds in the small studio apartment, two days after he had the fight. The wounded guy was sitting on the bed while Law was standing in front of him and eyed his injuries.

"That was the bastard next door!" Shachi stated displeased, feeling all the compassion for his friend right from his heart.

"You set another fight?" Law questioned with a brow rose like he was surprised. Thereby he wasn't at all since it was just a conflict with the neighbor _again_. Those two really had problems with that guy as the current issue was one of many times Law had heard from. Ever since they moved together into this small apartment, the neighbor was complaining about noises vice versa until they just started to hate each other and fought about nothing trivial but just the fact of their annoyances. They were even looking for excuses to fight, it was just so silly that he avoided as much as he could to get involved.

"Ah, he came to our car repair station and I didn't even know it was _his_ car we had to repair. Anyway, the car was for the trash and he didn't like the fact and started to insult my coworker."

"And he started a fight as you stepped in," Law concluded the end of the story.

Revising the situation in a speed, Penguin's face changed quickly to anger. "Yes! He did! If I would've known it was _his_ car, I would've refused right away!"

"Hey, he must be at home now!" Shachi said from the side while he was watching how Law treated the big wound on his mate's forehead.

"What do you expect me to do?" Was the doctor's answer. Though Law understood them quite well, the two were always asking for things but were never clear with their requests and statements.

Shachi calmed a little back and responded uncertain, "uhh... I don't know..."

"That was Penguin's fight, something he should solve himself. You can't always rely on me."

Agreeing with his words in dissatisfaction, Penguin said, "you're right..."

"Who treated that wound?" Law asked casually as he wanted to change the subject. "It's so... badly done." Enough to stop its bleeding but for a taught person a little scratch in the eye.

"Shachi!" Still, the two were holding into the plan of telling Law nothing about the girl they had met, so they were forced to lie.

And even when the redhead was not happy about the improvised answer of his friend that made him open his mouth for defense, he could grasp the moment fast enough to agree weirdly. "Yes! That was me!"

"You should've gone to the hospital," the young doctor told them unimpressed about their decision - whoever had treated it but them. The wound was maybe not too big to have the need of stitching, but definitely adhesive bonding. It was dangerous though as head-damage were always to treat seriously.

"Why to the hospital when we got you," his wounded friend still responded with carefreeness and conviction. He squinted one eye as he felt the burn on his skin as Law applied the adhesive, adding, "you're stealing supplies from them anyway. Easy peasy at home."

A true fact, he might have a small passion for crime? Now and then, he stole some equipment for his own use, for cases like the current one. If he was a doctor anyway, why should he charge his companions? But whatever the fight was about, the wound on his forehead looked like something hard had impact on it, made Law asking, "what happened there anyway?"

"Ah he hit me with a crowbar," he got as an answer without much tumult around it. "The fistfight was okay, but this got me for a moment."

Though Penguin stated that like it was nothing, Law frowned instantly. He didn't like what he heard. "And you said he's home now?"

"Yeah, why?" Shachi replied.

Because it looked like he was ready to involve himself for the first time. Up to now, it had been no more than bruises and cuts in their lips, but he pretty much disliked the fact that the bastard attacked his companion with a freaking crowbar. Law sighed and turned away from Penguin to get outside, turning the doorknob. "Geez, you guys..."

The neighbor's door was just a few meters away from them, and in casual posture with his hands in his pockets, Law walked up to it and rang once while the other two leaned carefully over their doorway to watch him. As no reaction followed within a minute, he knocked on the door in all calmness. Another passed minute then, the door moved.

"Huuh? What do you want? Came here for your buddy huh?" A dark-haired guy in his mid-30s said in insolence. He was half a head shorter than Law and wore a washed out green tracksuit with socks that were probably at least more than a week old.

Law didn't bother much about the sweaty smell though, and answered calmly, "right, I'm here to listen to your justifications."

"That guy has broken my car!" The guy shouted a little pissed.

Hearing that, Penguin jumped out and walked over to Law to face his enemy as well. "What?! I did _not_?! Just because you're treating it like trash, you fault me?!"

"When I got to your fucking garage, it was still working!" He claimed and gestured his arm up in anger.

"I told you it will for a few rides, but no more!"

"No! You fucking broke it!"

Law was not convinced about the guy's behavior and statements at all. Even he wouldn't be friends with Penguin, as a purely rational person, he wouldn't be able taking that guy seriously in any way, hence he would believe Penguin's words more all in all. "This is your excuse?"

"This is no excuse stupid fuck-face," he responded right away into his stoic expression, pinching the bridge of his nose.

He definitely had aggression problems; Law observed how his hands already twitched for a punch, and how his body posture changed to a more challenging and dominating way. "I don't know, if that's enough for you to attack someone with a crowbar just because you're too incompetent to care well for your car, I wonder who's the stupid fuck-face."

The guy licked over his teeth and made a step forward to Law. "You wanna fuck with me? You really wanna fuck with me huh?"

Honestly, the young man didn't fancy any fight and stayed stoic. "I'm just asking for an apology."

Staring at each other, the guy suddenly grabbed a metal shoehorn that hung on his wall next to the door and hauled out with it, attacking the young man. Law dodged his strike with a sidestep and took the item as the guy stood still, ripping it out of his hand to throw it to the ground. He had tried to solve it with no violence but became displeased as that bastard dared to attack him like a dumbass.

Grabbing his collar, he urged him inside his apartment and bumped him against the wall. "Bad played. I said it was just an apology I requested."

The guy showed his middle finger with a spit into his face, and Law grabbed that one and bent it a little, made him screaming in pain. "Stop! Stop!"

As he let go of his finger, he pulled his shirt more and pierced him with pretty displeased eyes. That bastard dared to _spit_ into his face.

The guy gulped of fear and said in panic, "wow bro, calm down...! I-It's okay! Chill...!"

"Any more excuses?" Law questioned him in a threatening manner.

"N-no! I'm sorry! Sorry!"

The fear of that guy didn't fade but grew to Law's joy. "Do you know what you're sorry for?" He asked then to what the guy couldn't answer. "For being an unfair bastard that attacks people with a fucking crowbar who tried their best to help. If it's for me, you can go and die, but well..." Law smirked deviously. "An apology on knees would be enough for him."

He threw the guy outside again, made him fall on his knees right in front of his wounded companion.

Looking up in humiliation, he faced Penguin and fought against his pride, squeezing the words out in force, "I apologize for hitting you with a crowbar."

Penguin folded his arms. "And?!"

"For blaming you to have broken my car..."

In satisfaction, he looked over to Shachi and Law and grinned. After all the insolence and cockiness that bastard had pulled off for no legit reason, he felt like justice was committed that very moment.

Law walked out of the guy's apartment, passing the pity on the ground as he headed back over to his companion's place. "You should better not mess around again. They can basically call the police for your violence, and everything's on tape."

The guy's hands trembled in anger and fear. As the group left him on the floor, he got back inside his own four walls, bearing the humiliation.

Back in their apartment, Shachi cheered at Law in astonishment and admiration. "Law! You're so cool!"

"You really made him apologizing on his knees!" Penguin joined him with much gratefulness. "Ya the cap! Thank you!"

"Stop call me captain, you're playing too much of this video game."

They laughed and rubbed their necks a little sheepish. "Sorry."

After contact with such greasy guy, Law targeted the bathroom right away to wash his hands and face. Not that he had been already somewhat disgusted that during the shouts of him, some of his spit landed everywhere; no, he had to spread it straight in fullness into his face. If killing and torturing would be legal, or well, less easy to follow back...

As he turned to the towel to dry his hands, he saw a familiar item hanging in the shower. Stepping closer to it, he grabbed that one and eyed it carefully. He could remember he had brought it back, let alone that he hadn't even left it here. Perhaps it was not hers and just the same model?

Shachi went inside the bathroom and saw Law with the umbrella that was supposed to be out of his sight. In panic, he explained, "ahh! That's Penguin's! I already told him it's a little feminine, but he'll return it later."

"What are you talking?!" Penguin shouted around the corner and rushed over to them. "This is yours!"

"Who brought it home? Definitely not me, and I'm the manlier among us anyway."

"You're the one with long hair."

"Pretty stereotyping from you, huh?!" Shachi stated and then focused back on Law. "It's Penguin's, he's just too embarrassed to confess, but he actually likes stuff like-"

"Oh geez, it's from a girl," his mate confessed with an eye roll. They were bad liars, especially in combo, and Law was good in detecting lies anyway, thus trying to explain it was nonsense. "I just met a girl on the street after the fight and she took me home since I was pretty disoriented, and it had been raining. She also treated my wounds and forgot the umbrella here."

Law looked into the ashamed round and raised a brow without understanding but rather confusion. "And you kept it secret from me because...?"

"Shachi and I were afraid that our chances on her sink when you interfere again."

"Again?" He questioned as he didn't understand what they really meant by it.

Penguin responded, "you do that quite often, always gets the hot chicks."

"And this time, she was hot, cute and liked _video games_!" His mate added.

Those two acted in his opinion pretty silly. It's true that sometimes _he_ , in the end, landed with _their_ target in bed, but also sometimes, they were just exaggerating. Talking, listening, and having sex with a woman cost time and strength, which he didn't always have. "And you think I sleep with every woman I run into?"

"No, but maybe her...?" The redhead said quiet and carefully, a little uncertain about his presumption now.

Different to Penguin who was convinced of it. "Yeah, bet Quinn would've been your type."

Law's brows twitched discreetly. "Quinn?"

"Yep, that's her name."

"Blonde, blue eyes, around 5"7'?"

"Yeah," they answered calmly, but corrected their tone in puzzling surprise as they realized the perfect description, "...Yeah!"

"You know her?" Asked Shachi.

Law held the umbrella a little higher and eyed it one more. "Yeah. You can give up already, quite a conservative girl." What a small world it was again, that she had to run into his companions with her kitschy umbrella.

His statement wondered them though. "Did she reject you too?"

"I didn't try. She's one of my patients." Even she did reject his help as a doctor, but they didn't have to know about his work life.

"Ah, the patient rule..." Penguin said.

Shachi found some amusement in it and got back to his comfort after knowing that Law wouldn't interfere. "As if you never fantasized about sleeping with one of your female patients," he stated a little with tease.

Sex fantasies about his patients? No, he never had those, and he was in a good control of it. If he had the time to imagined his intercourse, then...

Well fine, now he got them.

Taking that blonde on the examination table during one of his sessions would be sure fun, especially when she had to keep quiet so that no one would catch them.

He quirked his lips a little by the thought as he didn't like mixing work with his private life. It annoyed that they had managed to make him thinking out of his frame, and then it had to be that bubbly blonde he couldn't sleep with anyway. "She's amusing, but she can't stand me."

"Well, that's not hard out from your flirting mode," Penguin joked.

Smiling, Shachi said, "but _we_ get along with her, chances are still there!"

"Maybe Shachi's looking for a girlfriend."

"I'm not! And even if, it's nothing reprehensible!"

She actually got along with _those two_? Those two _perverts_ that wanted to go pick up women at least every second day, flirting openly and quite amateurish with them, calling them chicks, living in such a mess apartment and consumed porn and video games like it's their profession? What behavior had they pulled off to make her thinking not negative of them? Weird.

"Whatever. I gonna take this umbrella then and return it when I see her next time," Law said and got out of the bathroom, passing the two.

"What?" Penguin said confused. "Why?"

"The chances are bigger that _I'll_ see her again," he responded like it was a matter of fact.

"Hey wait," Shachi said and grabbed the umbrella as Law wanted to leave. "We need that...!"

"She can't stand you anyway, so," his mate supported him.

Law tried to keep his calmness as he answered, "I didn't say she hates me to death," mentally a bit annoyed by them trying so hard. The moment they would become physical with her, that blonde would reject them anyway and stamped them as perverts.

"Oh I bet she does," Shachi then joked with a grin. "She wouldn't be the first one."

Seriously?

"Fine, whatever." Law turned away and opened the door. "I've done my job here. If you don't feel well Penguin, headaches, nausea, disorientation, or any infection, just call me."

The two stared a little confused at the door as he had left, and they exchanged their little confusion. "Was he mad?"

* * *

That she had to mislay her umbrella somewhere was not the thing that upset Quinn. It was more that the weather forecast had promised pure warm sunshine for the day, and now she was standing without a coat in the heavy rain at the bus station without any roof close by. _I'll never listen to their predictions again!_

Well, though it was raining, the sun had been shining for hours when she had been at work. _In the building_. Underneath her cardigan, she was trying to protect her students' work inside the thin and not water resistant portfolio she was carrying with her. That was the day she decided to buy a new waterproof one to prevent events like such in the future.

Soaked to the bones in her water-inviting sneakers, Quinn trembled in frustration and checked the time once again for the bus. It was still around ten minutes left until it would arrive, and she groaned, "maaan, stupid rain! Don't you dare to show me no rainbow after!"

Right afterward, the color of the rainbows indeed appeared over her head, catching the falling water. She turned her head surprised to the side and faced a smile next to her that came out of nowhere, saving her health with a colorful umbrella.

"Koala!" Quinn said in joy as the ginger was right next to her.

"Now it's me that protects you from the rain," she answered with a smile.

"Holy, you're a lifesaver! I mean, actually a work saver! I think my body and clothes wouldn't have been able to protect those drawings any longer!"

Koala saluted jokingly. "I literally heard your frustrated cries and got here as fast as I could."

"Not all heroes wear capes; but umbrellas," Quinn joined her fun and bowed down to 90 degrees.

"Are you heading home now?"

"Yeah, the bus must be there in a few minutes."

"Ah, got here by the last few minutes, I see," the girl said then and pouted her lips a little, disappointed of her own appearance that was just last minute.

Patting her head teasingly, Quinn told with some snicker, "you did a great job though. Thank you."

Even they just had met once before, it felt like she didn't need to hold back with her character when it came to that girl. Maybe it was just her, but for Quinn, their acquaintanceship appeared quite heartily that she was sure, it wouldn't come off rude if she teased her like that.

But she was carefully though as curiosity about her issues with her friend returned to her mind. "Uhm, I don't wanna be too curious or so, and you don't have to answer, but... what happened to you and your best friend now?"

Smiling sheepishly with light pinked cheeks, Koala waved with one hand in front of her as defense. "Ahh this...! It's nothing anymore...! We're cool with each other again."

"You're... dating now?"

Koala shook her head instantly. "No no! We've talked and decided, it would be stupid and awkward if two friends date each other, and I was pretty drunk that evening and only said nonsense. He was just mad that I was kidding with emotions since he knew we're nothing beyond than friends and colleagues."

By her nervous and embarrassed look to the side, Quinn didn't believe a word she was saying. She was convinced that Koala still had feelings for that guy, but there was not much she could do to make her standing to it. Maybe it was better that the ginger was lying to herself in order to not get hurt. The blonde didn't know that guy and was for now not even sure anymore if he felt the same for her.

"Stay strong!" Quinn said then determined and hugged the ginger, what took her by surprise. Noticing that she was wet from head to toe, she let go of her right away. "I-I'm sorry! I forgot about my wet clothes, I didn't mean to pass that to you! Sorry sorry sorry!"

"No, it's okay," Koala responded with a small laugh. "The rain's coming from every direction, it's not like I'm completely dry."

"Oh, if you say so, then I take back my apology," Quinn joked.

Seeing the bus arriving, Koala suddenly hugged her tightly that it almost hurt. "See, I don't care!"

"God girl, you got strength!" The blonde pressed her words in effort out within her strong grip.

"See youuuuu, Quinn!"

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Law's my fave as well, but I thought I would write a story with him being a kind of selfish arse that has to understand it's not always working the way he wants it. He's known to be somewhat arrogant, but arrogance isn't supposed to be always attractive like animes show, so I tried to transfer that into something like a little 'real life' by a modern AU. But yeah, many women desired those type of men though lol. ( **Tori Ki & Sarge1130**)_

 _Thanks for reading and the reviews :)!_


	17. April fool's day

**17\. April fool's day**

April - she loved it. This year's March had been an awful wet month, but when actual spring stepped in the month after, Quinn had cheered in the morning as her eyes had met the bright and strong sun rays that had been missed for so long. The cold, windy, wet winter was officially over; it felt like being reborn.

People said the beginning of spring provided you the same intensity of feels of happiness as when you are in love. Quinn indeed felt a lot happier, she almost forgot about her grumpy thoughts of the last weeks that her ex-doctor had caused shamelessly. How often had she turned herself on her heels today, taking steps like an idiot on it. Her colleagues had warned her to stop, or they were going to break sooner or later. She really tried to listen to them, but it was just reflecting her good mood in a fun way.

But it was her favorite pair of boots, thus she better took drastic measure, or else she could say goodbye to them. Slapping herself for every foolish balancing she made?

Anyway, Quinn walked happily through the corridors of the school building to leave it, since she had two hours of spare time right then. On her way out, she spotted to her surprise Luffy's big brother who seemed to wait for him on a bench in the halls.

"Well, I know this face," she said as she went closer, needing to pass him anyway.

Sabo looked up when he heard her voice. "Ah, Luffy's teacher."

Stopping in front of him in a distance of a little more than a meter, Quinn asked quite casual like teachers did, "are you here to pick him up?"

"Yeah, it's April now and the weather's getting better, so I thought I spend some time with him after school," he responded, pretty casual himself with a friendly face.

Quinn always wanted an older sibling when she was younger, and she had imagined, that older sibling to act exactly the way that guy was doing then. However, the young woman gritted her teeth a little awkwardly and inhaled through them as she wanted to pass some 'bad' news. "As _great_ as I find your plan, you're a little too late..."

"Too late? This can't be, my watch-" Sabo checked the time on his wrist, cutting himself off as he realized his goof. "Ah, I still forgot to change settings on it!" He looked back at her and laughed a little. "Other timezone and so. Crap."

"April fool!" With a big grin, said she then. That was probably her 100th joke of the day, god she loved the first day of April, then when no one could blame her for being a little more humorous.

"You got me," Sabo told and joined her happiness.

"But no really, you're too early."

"Whaaat? No way."

Taking out her phone, she turned the screen on to confirm her statement. Quinn though tried to see the positive in everything. "Better too early than too late."

He sighed and leaned back against the wall, tilting his face to the ceiling. "True. So, that means waiting for an hour..."

"Uhm, there's a small coffee shop around the corner of the street, you can wait there if you want, it's better than to become a cabbage here. I mean, not in a stupid way! Like uh, cabbage, sitting and-, you know...! Nothing insulting...!"

"You're right," he agreed quick, ignoring her weird struggle, and got back on his feet. "Where exactly around the corner?"

Wow, that was simple.

"Ah, I have some spare time now anyway, I can show you."

The two then walked off together. Having to look up at him to speak, Quinn thought she had found out something trivial about herself. Even Law had been an outrageous arse, she had liked it that he was tall, just like Sabo who was maybe just a tiny bit shorter than him. Yeah, she had developed a preferred feature when it came to men, it surprised herself since she never had such before. But of course, height shouldn't play a role in a relationship as long as the feelings were true. It was just something like a cool gimmick.

"You know, I just try to spend as much time as I can with Luffy during my stay here," Sabo told.

"You sound like a very busy person."

He smiled and looked down at her. "Yeah, I am. I work for the Revolutionaries, international, so we're traveling a lot."

Not that Quinn had expected anything, but it though felt like it was going over her expectations. "Whaaat? You mean the organization that fights for civil rights and- wait? You're a freedom activist?!"

"Right. There's a lot going on these days, but at the moment, I have lots of paper stuff to do and work from home."

A freaking freedom fighter, that explained his lock screen background right away. She was more or less completely amazed by him as his engagement appeared to be full-time in a non-profit organization that lived from donations.

It confused her though, why he had kept his arrival in town secret from his family. "Woah, but why have you been here without telling?"

"I couldn't go home then as there was other work I stuck to, or otherwise I would've strained my assistant," he responded and sniggered a little, "she wouldn't deserve that."

"I see. So, how is it going?! Are you successful?!" Not that she just wanted to build some conversation, it really got Quinn's curiosity. All in all, it were civil rights and liberalism they were talking about.

He appreciated her interest. "It's okay, there are some successes. As we're the biggest organization that advocates for people around the whole world with all the different head forces and laws, we're struggling somewhat in planning. But due to a revolt, we've managed to bring in women's suffrage in one of the smaller regions, I think that was our biggest success for last year."

"This is amazing!" She said, almost sparkling. Sabo was something... good.

"Thanks," he replied a little modest and rubbed the back of his head. "But we have many cooperating organizations who make other smaller, though for us still big, successes like granting innocents amnesty."

Furrowing her brows, Quinn whimpered a little, "awww, I feel so senseless in this world now..."

"What are you saying? You're teaching our future," he stated casually.

She looked down to the side and poked her own cheeks in discomfort and shame. "Yeah, but only in arts and sports..."

"I think these are two very important subjects for children. They do something for their fitness once a week, learn how to work in a team, unfolding their creativity."

"Oh my god, right?!" Suddenly, she exclaimed with big eyes. "I always tell others, but no one cares...! This is so important in their age!"

"Yep!"

Noticing her little uproar, Quinn backed off with embarrassment. "Ah, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be so loud, it's just nice to know someone with the same opinion."

"I'm used to loud," he claimed with a smile. "Anyway, just imagined the people in the poorer regions to have a normal job. You wouldn't consider them 'senseless' then, right?"

He was _so_ right, Quinn couldn't and didn't want to argue against him, but instead, she was taken into his bond, "I gonna donate for you guys now!"

"I appreciate that," Sabo said with a small laugh.

The two then stopped in front of their destination. "Here we are."

It was a small cozy shop in warm coffee shades that had space for probably 20 people. The lighting was not strong but rather modest to emphasized a trustful, homey atmosphere. Quinn loved that place, since she thought it had something chic, classy and cute, made it her favorite café.

Eyeing the shop swiftly from the outside, Sabo got in without hesitation, "well well, let's see what they got."

"But I warn you, a coffee alone cost around six here."

His eyes moved in displeased shock to her, staring in total disbelief. Charging so much for a coffee, that was definitely the type of capitalism he couldn't tolerate, and it would be the first shop he ever came across with such exorbitant prices, made him hard to actually support them.

"April fool!" Fawn exclaimed again and earned some baffle from him. She laughed in joy as she said, "you had to see your face, that was priceless!"

"Oh man, you really got me there, I was about to consider not going."

"Tehe, sorry," she responded playfully. As they stood in front of the bar, staring at the big blackboard on the wall in front of them, Quinn already knew what he should try. "Oh, I recommend you a simple cappuccino with caramel and some white chocolate sprinkles, it's the best here!"

"Sounds good, I take it," was his answer with no delay and he turned to the staff, ordering, "one cappuccino with caramel and some white chocolate sprinkles."

"Ah, it's called Shooting Star," Quinn remarked a little awkward. "Sorry, my bad, he's not from here. I mean, he is...! He's just working a lot abroad, and... well, theoretically he's not from here when you talk about the regular customer list, I mean-" Noticing that she was babbling too much again, even to her own annoyance, she kept quiet with rosy cheeks. "Argh, I'm sorry... I just shut up..."

He looked at her and chuckled a little. "It's alright, we get your point "

As much as his eyes were smiling, it was one of those moments she felt really silly again. "Don't think I'm always like this..."

"Well, at least the first time we met, the second time, aaand... now," he counted casually but with some tease. "But it's okay."

"Wow, you're making me feeling more embarrassed, thank you," she responded in low excitement, hanging her head to what he just laughed lightly.

The staff then brought a cup of his order, shifting it over the counter. "Here's your drink, that's 3.30."

"Can I pay by card?" Sabo asked.

Brows furrowed in apology, the girl behind the bar had to disappoint him with a slight smile, "ah... sorry, only from five and upwards."

"Really?" Sabo said then in his misfortune and looked up at the menu to see what else he could buy. "Hm..." Finding nothing though, he turned to his company, asking, "do you want something?"

Quinn looked at him a little out of place. "Huh?"

"I don't have cash with me," he explained and she grasped the situation soon.

"Oh! Then I take the same but to-go, please," the teacher said, pulling out her purse then. "Here, I can pay you that back. Just keep the change, I don't have it smaller right now."

He waved it off with one hand. "It's fine, those are just three bucks."

" _Just?_ " She queried in light shock. "Do you know how much you can buy with three bucks?!"

"Yeah, I do."

Feeling a little weird, Quinn narrowed her eyes in suspicion, which pierced him. "You don't happen to be rich, do you?"

"No, I'm just not making a big fuzz about money."

"Oh, that... sounds logic too." Quinn then remained quiet for a moment, watching him pay until she interrupted him again as a side-thought got her. "Ah no wait! You work full-time for a non-profit organization! I pay!"

"It's not like I don't have mo-"

"Psst. Take it," she said and urged him a little to the side, handing the staff the cash.

"Ok ok," Sabo said and teased her with a back off like she was about to get in rage.

She took the change and put it into her purse. "You're welcome."

Taking a seat at the window side then, the young woman followed him just to assure herself that he did like it. "And...? Good?" She asked him carefully as he sipped from the hot liquid.

"Hm..." He took some time for a final answer, not only to digest the taste and put it into a scale from one to ten but also to make her a little anxious. It was cute to see her staring at him in high hopes and nervosity. After some weird humming and eyeing the drink, he said, "I like it! 8.5/10."

"I knew it!" Quinn said with a snap. "And the not-so-secret-anymore ingredient is goat milk!"

Silence.

Staring blankly at her, Sabo said, "was that a joke again?"

Quinn returned an awkward smiling look. "April fool...?"

He shook his head a little, chuckling lightly "That was lame, you're getting too obvious."

"Ouh man... sorry...," she said with blushed cheeks and looked away. It was the perfect embarrassing moment to escape anyway. "...however, I have to go now."

"Thanks for the drink, next time I treat you one."

"Ah no no! You don't have to!" She said somewhat flustered, but joking then, "I mean, those were _just_ three bucks, right?"

* * *

Annoyance, rage, and amusement; those were the emotions Dr. Dillan knew of Law when she talked about his facial expressions. Otherwise, he looked pretty stoic in any other situation, made it hard for people to actually read him. Though, _she_ for her part somehow saw when something bothering or not was going through his mind.

"Oh dear, what concerns you now?" The female doctor said as she took her break in the staff room of the hospital, seeing him lying on the couch. His face appeared to be in thoughts while his posture more in relaxation.

Hearing her, he shifted his eyes to the side to look at the woman. "Am I that obvious?"

"Not really, but you can't fool _me_ ," she responded and passed him to get to the water dispenser. She grabbed one of the white plastic cups and filled it up.

"It's nothing important," Law told her as his eyes moved back to the ceiling.

"You're sure?"

"Yeah."

She walked up to him with her cup, stopping next to her younger co-worker. "Have you got the result of the dead man from two days ago?"

"Yeah."

"And you don't wanna tell me?" Dr. Dillan said as nothing else besides his silence followed.

Law slowly straightened up and turned his feet to the ground, resting his elbows on his thighs. "He died due to a cardiac arrest. The result showed a valvular heart defect, and according to his family, none of them knew about it as he never went to a doctor to let his body check."

"Oh... that's sad. Something you could've prevented from happening. He was still young, somewhat in his 40s, right?"

"Right."

"But wait..." She leaned a little down to him with both her brows lifted. "You're not in that mood, because a man died here?"

"No."

"Trafalgar dear, are you developing compassion?"

Law looked to the side, pinching slightly the bridge of his nose. "No. I'm rather annoyed."

"That someone died?" Dr. Dillan asked somewhat astounded and straightened back.

He rested his chin on his palm, keeping his look to the side. "Quinn Heady has a valvular heart defect as well, but I couldn't check on her properly. She hasn't let someone check on it in three years now."

"Oh, Quinn?" The female doctor said surprised... "I didn't know that."

"Yeah. Wanna do me a favor?" Law said then, his face turning back to her.

"Depends?" She responded, smiling. The two were always doing each other some little favors, thus the reason for Dr. Dillan to smile. It was one of the minor things that made the young man in any kind of way reachable. It reminded her of the old times when his mother had absolved her internship in this hospital with her together.

"Wanna call and tell her about the man who died, and make an appointment with her for an echocardiography?"

"Oh right, she had rejected you as well."

He leaned casual back. "She seemed to trust you, so she will listen to you."

"Say Trafalgar..." Dr. Dillan said with a brow lightly rose. "Are you worried about her?"

"I'm more sick of her naivety. She's careless," Law responded with stoical face.

The female doctor smiled, a bit teasing. "That's the same."

"Will you do me the favor, yes or no?"

"No," was her confidence answer, her smile not fainting. "I think you better tell her yourself."

"Well, then I can let it completely," he stated and got up tiredly.

As he passed her, she turned around to tell him, "hey, you got the chance here to show one of your lost patient that you're not as bad as you look."

"If she doesn't want to, it's her unluck if she dies as well, or whatever."

"Oh, that's harsh. You don't really want this, do you?"

Law tilted his body a little annoyed around. He didn't like it when she interfered too much into his decisions, why had he asked her anyway? "I didn't say I wish anyone something bad. It's just her decision, and if you choose to remain silent too, then we don't need to talk about it any further."

Dr. Dillan sighed in defeat. "I don't know why you're too proud and stubborn again."

"I-" Law cut himself off with a displeased gasp. Turning away then, he walked out of the room. "See you."

He was annoyed, _again_ , just _as always,_ the last two weeks; and he wasn't even sure why. Something in the air irked him, he didn't feel as relaxed as he usually used to, almost wherever he went. It felt like some weight was put on him as a burden to lead a carefree life, nothing he was used to. Of course, Law knew how it felt to be highly burdened with something from his much younger days, but what bothered him now was not slightly as bad as that, but uncomfortable enough to notice it.

Walking through the halls of the hospital, he heard someone calling him from behind, a rather unfamiliar voice. "Doctor."

A woman with a little child on her arm looked at him with a warm smile. "I wanted to thank you for the successful operation on my daughter last week."

Looked like a parent of one of his patients. "You're welcome."

"My husband and I baked some peanut cookies to show you our gratitude. We would be happy if you accept it."

"It was just my job, but thanks for your effort," Law responded pretty flat and took the little box of cookies as she handed it to him.

"No, as said, _we_ have to thank," the woman stated in conviction, glad that he took it.

There was not much left to say, so he told them "get well then," and left the spot.

So, peanut cookies. He walked with the box to his car and put it in the passenger seat. It's been a while that a patient actually made the effort to prepare him a present as the last time before this was when that blonde had brought him her apology basket.

Talking about that...

It's been a while that he had taken a look into his trunk as he normally didn't transport much. The present she had made, Law had forgotten it in his car those last two months and wondered if the sweets she had put in were even still eatable. If yes, he would give it to Shachi and Penguin, or leave it in the waiting room of the hospital. This time for sure.

Walking to the back of his car, he opened the trunk and expected nothing. What he saw then had made his eyes growing in something you could call shock and surprise. The whole inside was blasted with confetti in all possible colors like something had exploded in there. Something like... a bomb. A confetti bomb.

Law grabbed the basket and looked for its causer, finding some small piece of plastic that was hidden between the sweets, and another part that flew somewhere around. A little amused smile sneaked on his lips.

So, there _was_ a bomb inside that basket. And add to that, a little note that said _'Sorry for the puke! But this time, I puked rainbows!_ ' He felt like he had fooled himself with it by finding out about the thing on April Fool's Day - of all days. Or like that blonde had pranked him without even knowing. It must have been _her_ day anyway, she loved jokes, didn't she?

Whatever, the chocolate bar he had picked was inedible though. Not just old, but also too sweet.


	18. Peanut, Bread & Easter Egg

**18\. Peanut, Bread & Easter Egg**

Quinn haven't seen Law in three weeks ever since she had left him with the cup of tea in their living room. That he had had the nerve to call her indirectly a bad teacher in some kind of way, had bothered her pretty much, even she tried to give a damn about his opinions. When she thought that she had seen him almost every week at least once thanks to Judy, it was quite relaxing that both appeared somewhat busy those days, sparing her with his presence. Or maybe he just lost interest in sleeping with Judy. However, she could calm from her little annoyance within their distance and almost forgot about him.

Now it was already the middle of April, and she found herself in the local hospital again. It wasn't for any appointment with a doctor though. Quinn wasn't sure if she had looked forward to that day or not but her school was in cooperation with the hospital, thus volunteering for events like Easter or Christmas every year. For this year easter, she - as an art teacher - was sent with her favorite two graders (pssst!) to work on the easter project they did every other 365 days. It was all about children painting and hiding eggs for the other ill children.

Sure it was a cute event and something different to the regular work in the school building as who did not like school trips, but that it had to be the hospital _he_ worked in, Quinn was a little unsettled by the fact. She just didn't want to run into that guy, perhaps passing him with awkward silence as there was nothing between them to be said anymore. Her mood had boosted up this month because the weather happened to be almost constantly nice, hence her umbrella, which she still had lost somewhere, unnecessary. She missed it though; the chances of finding the same cute dotted one again was not high.

Had been sent to a room that provided eggs and paint, Quinn looked over the shoulder of her students to eye their work. Among them, Usopp was the best painter, his work looked already over the average skill someone his age should have. Luffy in comparison was the worst, but you could say it looked like he had the most fun with it when he wasn't eating some of those eggs in secret (bad hidden though).

Sitting there and thinking about nothing bad, her eyes made contact with some familiar man that leaned on his shoulder casual against the door frame of the big glass door, his hands in the pockets of the flashy green scrub. Not really pleased about his sudden arrival, standing there like a pedophile, Quinn got up and walked over to him. At least it was not the awkward silence she had imagined by passing him randomly in the corridor.

"Oh, Dr. Trafalgar," the blonde said and stopped a meter in front of him. "What's the staring, are you here to apologize?"

"Miss Heady. I see no reason to apologize for anything."

She smiled extreme sarcastically. "Okay?"

His face stayed stoic just as so often, his way to talk matching to it. "We had a man a few days ago who died due to a cardiac arrest. It turned out he had a valvular heart defect which hadn't been supervised."

"And now you come to tell me I should walk against my pride and let you check on my heart?"

"I'm happened to be here, and I tell you to do nothing but just a story about a man who died," Law claimed.

"That's an awful story, goodbye," she responded disinterested and turned away from him.

"Miss Heady, it doesn't even have to be me but any doctor."

Facing him again with a sluggish turn, not sure if an eye roll would suit, or if she should appreciate his care, Quinn said, "so you _do_ tell me."

"You should mature, this is no competition."

A smile crept over her lips, but her eyes staying untouched by it. "There are two ways to mature, Doc. One that matures like a nice bottle of wine - what would be me as I try to be no pain to others, and one that matures like an old loaf of bread - what would be you. You really should work on your way of interacting with your fellow people, no one likes moldy bread."

"In the end, it's up to you if you wanna die."

"That's right, see ya."

Law rolled his eyes to the side, unpleased about her behavior. He had known it would end like that, that was the reason he had asked his colleague to do, but no, of course, his predictions were not taken seriously. He straightened up from the door frame and sighed, ready to leave as he muttered, "fine, do whatever you want."

His defiance, his madness, all those were so not legit; it bothered Quinn pretty much that he had to act like she was the stupid one. She couldn't resist keeping the unpretty conversation with him. "I bet this is why all your patients are rejecting you. Because you're a blunt, grouchy and arrogant plum who has no manners and a problem in accepting criticism. My only advice is to work on your attitude, or find a therapist or a friend who'd help you."

Did he even have friends? Not that Quinn wanted to judge, but he appeared more like a loner.

"By the end, people will come to me though and lie down on the operating table. I have no need to expect any gratitude since it's my job, but I have no further problem with them either then."

"So, you're just accepting it, but you're not happy."

"I don't know these people, they are just numbers, so I don't care about their opinion," he said, still cold.

"You care about no one's opinion," Quinn stated unimpressed. "Are you happy?"

He twitched his brows a little. What was that question about, what gave her the right to query his happiness? As said, he was satisfied. He got easy through life, he had his fun, he was from no one dependent.

Seeing his long pause to her question, Quinn sighed out quietly. "I just want you to say yes or no."

Law found it somewhat amusing that she was putting so much effort into arguing with him. He didn't want her to teach him anything, but he played along to see what she had else in her repertory, smirking a little. "No."

She for her part didn't know what all his smirking was about. Was he making fun of her? "God, have you ever looked into the mirror and smiled sincerely?"

He leaned casual back against the door frame, folding his arms while his smirk stayed. "Give me a reason to smile."

"Wait," the blonde said and turned around to her students. She walked up to them and stopped by a ginger girl, with whom she came back on her arms. "Nami, I want you to look at this man and say nothing."

Nami tried to keep a neutral stare at Law, but the longer she was staring into his stoic face, the more she had to grim, burying into her teacher's shoulder. "I don't like him..."

"Because?" Quinn asked, keeping her eyes on Law.

"He looks stupid..."

Well, not the answer she actually wanted to hear, it made her laughing swiftly before she asked again, "because?"

The little ginger girl looked back at the doctor, somewhat grumpy. "He looks unfriendly."

"Right! See, doctor? Your aura scares people and this is a big factor in life in order to find happiness. Make them smile and you'll smile." Quinn claimed then and slowly put her student back down, telling her softly, "go draw your eggs."

"Okay!" The ginger went back to her work.

"Trafalgar," Quinn said, but to make it more personal she corrected to "Law." Folding her arms as well with a deep breath, she tried to calm her displeased mood a little. "What I wanna say is, I don't wanna be mad at you, but you're giving me enough reason to. You should experience life different by treating other better. Look for a hobby that makes you happy, and hang out with people that make you laugh."

He looked down and chuckled a bit until his face moved back to her. "An elementary school teacher wants to teach me how to live."

Resting her hands on her hips then, Quinn showed no understanding for his statement. "I don't see anything wrong with it."

"Are _you_ happy?" He countered flatly with the same question.

Quinn was a bit confused but answered him; though he managed to get her a little insecure. "Uhm, yes?"

"And you wanna enjoy that happiness as long as you can?"

"Yes?"

"So why are you avoiding doctors?"

She narrowed her brows. "Because they are annoying."

"And?"

"Because they're a great time waste..."

"They can actually make your life longer," Law said.

"Natural selection, when I die, then I die. I mean, imagine every person that actually's in the hospital due to some diseases or organ failure supposed to be dead in the past. Isn't that amazing? You witness the wonder of mankind and even though physicians can be so incompetent. I mean, not that I say you're incompetent, I don't know if you are, but Dr. Dillan said you're a very good doctor, and I trust that woman. Anyway, I don't wanna judge your skills by your character, b-"

"Miss Heady. What happened that you hate the hospital?" Talking about physicians' incompetence meant that some experience must have made her thinking like that.

Surprised by his assumption, Quinn turned pretty quick into nervosity. "Huuh? Why do you think something had happened that I dislike hospitals? I'm free to hate them just like that! Uhh freedom...! Free opinion...! Y-you're a curious loaf...!"

He kept a silent glare at her, expecting the young woman to answer. Quinn didn't like it and half-lidded her eyes. "You think when you're staring at me like that I tell you anything?"

Well, it had worked when he had questioned her private history on their first and hopefully not last appointment. Making one step closer to her with both his hands shoved into his pockets, he leaned a little down to her face.

She blushed by the sudden move but tried to keep her bored look, not moving away. Even he was a damn jerk, he was still _male_ and pretty handsome. "You think when you get closer I tell you anything?"

"I do."

"Do you know that this green shade doesn't match your skin tone?"

"How unfortunate."

"I will tell you a shiiite," Quinn said then and folded her arms confidently, tilting her torso a little away. "Just go and live a happy life, Doc."

Raising a brow, Law changed his expression to a rather bored look as well. "I'm satisfied with my life, I don't need any improvement."

"You wanna tell me when someone offers you a better life you wouldn't take it?" Well, _this_ muzzled him, and she noticed it right away. "Accepting, and being truly satisfied is a big difference, Doctor."

"I appreciate that you still call me Doctor," he said with a sly smile.

"Don't change the subject."

Standing back up again, not leaving the focus on her, the young man said quite as a matter of fact, "as long as there's no genie appearing and offering me the 'perfect' life, I don't need any change."

Quinn shrugged her shoulders with a sarcastic smile, "I'm not a wizard, but I at least can tell you how you can improve."

"You're doing nothing but telling me to work on my attitude," he claimed then before his sarcasm, "so thanks walking slogan, I almost get it."

She was a sarcastic person, and she was okay when others were too, but in his case, it was sometimes just so wrong placed and made him appear even cockier. "God, you're so ungrateful..."

"I'm not, but you're thinking too highly of your words."

The blonde lifted her brows in big query, feeling like she had misheard his words. "Okay? What did I do wrong? Was I too obliging? Too naive? Perhaps too _positive_?"

"Too teaching."

She bit her tongue with a wide insincere grin, looked to the side and digested the moment for a second. He was never serious, was he? He was definitely just mocking her again. "I'm sorry that I didn't take care of your soft side. Next time, I'll do and also get you some fries if you want."

Law smirked. "I take your frustrated sarcasm by word."

"God you're so-!" Quinn just couldn't word herself anymore, _that_ speechless was his behavior making her, "uhh-, argh-, eh-, you-, just-, ahh-, see you not, Trafalgar!"

Starting to move, she called after him, "oh, and I choose you to be moldy _bread_ because I know you _don't like_ bread!"

Her little grumpiness made him raising a brow again. "Peanut," he called her then.

"Ha! Jokes on you! It's not like I don't like peanuts, I'm just about to die when I eat them!"

As much as he would like to keep that conversation after he hadn't talked to her in three weeks, his break was over anyway, thus the timing perfect. Happy, grumpy, mad, he found them all amusing on her, it was even hard to decide which one was the most entertaining. That blonde had a unique way to be tense, most of the time Law just couldn't take her seriously. Calling someone moldy bread? Could anyone take him amiss for finding it rather cute than hurting?

As he walked around the doorway, he ran into his female colleague that looked like she had been standing there for more than just the moment. "Were you listening the whole time?" He asked the woman.

She smiled slightly, a little in guilt. "Not the whole time."

Law ignored it and left the spot. He had nothing to say about that.

Following him with her eyes for a moment, the doctor turned her attention back ahead and entered the room.

"Dr. Dillan! How are you?! Good to see you!" Quinn said with joy as she saw her.

"Dear, what happened between you and Trafalgar? It sounds no good."

"Oh, you've listened?" The blonde responded somewhat surprised but not much touched by it. "I told you that guy's something else."

The doctor had listened from the point when Quinn mentioned about her being no wizard, and all the followed sarcasm. That she was uncomfortable with him during any examination was understandable, but she hadn't imagined the two to be that much of cat and dog. It was new to her though that her coworker was even bearing her upset voluntarily. Normally, he was giving one or two cocky comments, if not being deadly cold, and then left.

Dr. Dillan was fond on both of them, she wanted both of them to feel alright. To her observation was the only way, when he apologized for his behavior, or... "Just ignore him, dear."

Quinn quirked a brow and looked somewhat pissed into space. "I tried, but that's quite hard. Why do people employ him anyway? How can you work with him?"

"He's a good doctor... His success rate in difficult operations is almost 100%."

"Without his skills, what would he be? Was he treated badly by his last girl? Did she betray him? Does he have any negative mother complex why he treats women like that? Why he treats _anyone_ like that? God!"

For Dr. Dillan, it was the first time to hear Law treating the opposite gender bad in any way. "How does he treat them?"

"Like toys," Quinn grumbled. "My best friend has father issues and is kinda the same, but less rude."

"I didn't know he was like that to women."

In exhaustion, the blonde leaned with folded arms against the wall. "He's like licorice, either they hate him or they love him. And I'm surely not the type to be submissive to some jackass and play along with his game."

Dr. Dillan joined her and leaned with her hands in her white coat next to the young woman. "Trafalgar's mother was anyway, actually a very lovely woman. It's kind of complicated with him."

"He's so... meh," Quinn said and pouted her lips. She really didn't want to care about him, she had told Judy he was not _her_ problem, and though, she was irked by him every time they saw each other. Maybe it was because she had thought he was not that bad and imagined him to date Judy, giving her new perspectives on relationships between men and women. Though Judy always told _her_ to get a guy in order to get out of her 'childish' cave, she didn't think much of romantic relationships herself. In the end, Quinn concluded that she was just disappointed because she had kidded herself.

"Dear..." Dr. Dillan said with some compassion. "Please don't be mad at him, he has a rough childhood. His parents are no more.."

Quinn was muted for a moment. Should she feel bad now for that? To had thought so bad of him even he lost his parents? She gasped out her short sarcastic laugh and inhaled deeply, straightening back and stepped away from the wall.

"I think his life's hard enough," was the doctor's statement.

The blonde faced her again. "I'm sorry for him but this is no excuse to be a cocky arse. I don't wanna say I'm an angel but: my mother died long time ago, my father has three suicide attempts in jail - he _still_ has no right to behave like that! If that's so affecting him, _he_ 's just making his own life hard, not I and not his fellow people!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know about that, I'm really sorry, dear."

"I tried to be nice, but he does whatever he wants."

And that was the day, Quinn realized what she was doing was unhealthy for herself. She sometimes hated to care about others, who did nothing but mocked her mind. It was _another_ try then to forget about him, he should do whatever he wanted. Judy should do whatever she wanted.

Her left word exchange with Dr. Dillan wasn't long. After knowing a little more about her ex-doctor, Quinn just saw him as some traumatized guy with social issues. It was way easier to accept it that way, though not completely. She still thought he had no right to be a jerk, that his loss was no excuse, that he needed someone to teach him life better.

However, after her little confrontation with him, the day passed sooner than she thought. She sat in the halls and waited for her students, who strolled with some nurses around the hospital in the children department to hide the Easter baskets they had prepared together. Some parents came and picked their children up after those returned to the halls from finding a good hideout.

"I see, it's not finished yet?" Quinn heard a male voice behind her.

"Ah, Sabo! You come to pick up Luffy?" She said as she turned around and saw the young smiling man.

"Yo." Sabo casually took place next to her on the bench.

He wore a plain white shirt and a blue hoodie, different from his more formal and proper look like the last few times she had met him. _Oh my god, casual clothing, I've seen everything,_ Quinn thought as she side-glanced him discreetly, loving it.

"Say, what's Luffy's other brother doing?" She asked him quite curious. "When Luffy talked about him, he seemed to pretty admire him."

"He did?" Sabo said amused.

"N-not that he did not sound like that when he talked about you...! He also admired you in the same way, really...! It's just that you're back and Ace is not, and yeah...! You know...!"

"Miss Heady," he said with a warm chuckle, "you really need to be less nervous when explaining yourself. Just take your time."

"I-I'm sorry, you're right," she responded embarrassed. "By the way, you can call me Quinn! I-I mean, it's weird when you address me 'Miss' as his big brother, and I guess our age difference wouldn't be too big...!"

"I'm 22."

So, he was younger, but that was okay. _What the-, wrong thoughts Quinn...!_

"See, I'm 23!"

"Alright." Sabo started to mumble her name repeatedly in order to get it into his mind since he was quite bad with names. "Quinn, Quinn, Quinn, Quinn."

She liked it.

"Anyway, yeah Ace travels a lot around the world, he's kind of a vagabond and freelance photographer."

"That sounds cool," Quinn said with light astonishment, envying him for his profession. "Luffy just told me you two travel a lot, and he wants too when he's older. Ah, there he comes."

"Oi, Sabo!" The little boy shouted with a big smile, waving at his brother as he came back.

"You can take him with you right away, he's one of the last," Quinn said then.

Standing in front of the young man, Luffy seemed to be in impatience. "Can I have your phone?"

Sabo raised a brow in wonder and pulled it out from his pants, handing him the device. "Sure buddy, why?"

Luffy grabbed it in big joy. "There's a new mini-game to One Piece in the play store!"

"Hey, don't waste all my mobile data...!"

"I just look up for some pictures," the boy replied with a smile but kept his eyes focused on the display.

Sighing quietly, Sabo turned to Quinn and shook his head a little. "Don't believe him when he says he's _just_ doing something."

She chuckled, nodding as confirmation. "I know."

While Luffy's attention was still fixed to the phone, Sabo grabbed him to carry the distracted boy on his arm. "Well then, see you."

Quinn watched him walking off with Luffy who shouted "bye Miss Heady," while his eyes never left his activity.

"Bye bye..." She said and waved at them, though it was just Sabo's back she saw.

"Huuuh, your taste in men changed drastically," Judy suddenly appeared from behind, talking next to her ear.

She startled and got instantly nervous by her words. "Ahh! Judy...! W-what are you doing here...?! Are you skipping work again...?!"

"He was cute."

"You think so? I, for my part, see him objectively as my student's big brother with a great attitude."

"Sure you do," the brunette said and wriggled her brows. "Anyway, I'm finished with work earlier today, so I thought about paying you a visit here. How is it going?"

"Good good, most of them got picked up by their parents already. I just have to wait till everyone's gone," Quinn responded.

Walking around the bench, her friend sat down next to her. "Ah, okay. Let's eat something after this."

"Yesss."

"Oh by the way, have you seen Law?" Judy moved her head a little around to sight the guy.

"Law who?" The blonde acted clueless.

Rolling her eyes to it, Judy looked back at her, saying a little miffed, "Quinn. Trafalgar."

Quinn kept her clueless act, and even she found it funny, she was holding a flat expression. "Never heard before, are those synonyms for arrogant jerk?"

"Have you or have you not?"

Joking like that with Judy was impossible, so she had to give in. "No."

 _After_ the first answer when only silence had followed.

"...yes. But he's busy trying to climb the stairs of charisma school, don't look for him until he's finished."

The brunette laughed a little, tapping her shoulder with the back of her hand. "Oh Quinn, stop being so mean to him."

"Stop give a fuck about him, he gives a fuck about you too," Quinn stated, but then looking with her index finger to her lips, pensive away as she thought about her words again. " Well... you two literally give each other fucks but-"

"Quinn!"

"I'm sorry, I mean, yo what's up!"

Judy quirked in displeasure a brow. "You're weird."

Sinking her eyelids half over her orbs, Quinn said just as displeased as her, " _You_ are weird. You hate guys like him and though you like him somehow."

"Geez, you're getting annoying with that." The brunette did _not_ hate guys like him, she hated it when they cheated, and since Law was in no relationship, he was cheating on no one. "I haven't seen him in three weeks now."

Her behavior was obvious for the blonde though, so she teased her as she sang, "Judy is in loooove, Judy is in loooove."

"Quinn has a cruuuush, Quinn has a cruuuush," got she in return, but much more sore.

"Please just shut uuuup," she countered with a sarcastic grin.

Okay, Judy could continue this now, but it was too silly for her. "What's his name?"

"Sabo."

"Single? Homo?"

Appalled, Quinn was looking at her while her cheeks increased slightly in color. "How the hell should I know...?!

Judy raised a brow and checked on her nails as she replied her like it was a matter of course, "when you liked your ex back then, you found out everything about him within a day."

"You make me sound like an obsessive stalker..."

Ignoring what she had said, the brunette smiled slyly into space, mumbling, "a crush... And then she said, she wants no guy anymore."

Yes, he was like an Easter egg she was crushing recently. She had a total crush...

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Happy Birthday to Sabo~! *sings*_

 _ **Zerom1v -** He was convinced it were just candies XD_


	19. Declaration of truce

**19\. Declaration of truce**

Yesterday was okay. She had a bad start with someone like Law and a good end with someone like Sabo, the order had been better like that than the other way round.

Clicking with her heels through the empty corridors of the school building again, Quinn was attaching some drawings of her students on the walls. Even none of the fifth graders could compete with Usopp's drawing skills, it could be argued if he was the most talented painter who attended this school. Surely he would become a great artist when he's older, maybe he would go to one of the sophisticated art classes outside of this city?

Talking about those, she was still waiting for an invitation letter from the one she had applied for. Now and then, she was wavering with her decision to give it a try when days at work were good. Anyway, finished attaching the last drawing, Quinn went downstairs from the four-story building to get back to the teacher's room. On the way there, she caught sight with her... well, little crush what got her anxious for a second before it shifted to happiness.

"Sabo Sabo... you're way too early again," the teacher said and walked up to the guy who looked like he had been in a hurry as he stood panting in front of Luffy's closed classroom door.

"I am?" He said and looked from her down to his watch. "I thought I'm too late."

Quinn smiled a little when she saw his worried face that seemed to reflect all his effort into picking up his little brother on time. She had to disappoint him though that his effort was a waste, but he was already quite late anyway. "I heard Luffy never does his math homework and has to stay until he finishes the one from today."

Facepalming with an exhausted sigh then, he said, "that boy..."

"Be honest." Quinn padded over to him as he leaned against the wall, her hands clasping behind her back. "Were you someone who always did his homework?"

Sabo looked at the girl, which had positioned herself next to him, with a somewhat wry smile until he rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Well, not really."

"Me neither," got he in return, unexpected. She grinned. "I was quite a rebel back then tehe."

"Who was not," he responded with a little laugh. "Have you got free time now as well?"

"Kinda." She had to do some paperwork but was not scheduled for that.

"A teacher probably has lots of free time huh?"

"Weeell, actually not," she saidslowly, being careful about how she should explain a teacher's life without exaggerating the negative or positive aspects. "We have enough to do at home after school like preparing the next lessons, grading students' work, many hours every day."

"So, you're constantly busy?"

"The good thing is that you can make your own schedule for after school. But..." She stepped away from the wall and rested her hands on her hips, revising a bit of her own day. "I, for my part, am pretty fast at working, I don't have that much to do for PE and arts compared to other teachers."

"So... you do have lots of free time?"

"Theoretically, yap."

Sabo looked with a small chuckle to the side, confusing her a little and made her unsure if he was laughing _about_ her. "What is...?"

"You wanna go out for... a Shooting Star perhaps?"

Quinn's eyes grew, her lashes moving up and down in her blank face. "Huh?"

He smiled somewhat amused. "The cappuccino with caramel and white chocolate sprinkles," he told and rubbed his thumb and index finger together like he would spread the sprinkles.

Blushing somewhat and hoped for no misunderstanding, Quinn looked nervously away as she stammered, "i-i-if you mean, you need to do that parental talk about Luffy, I also have time between the lessons...!"

"What? I'm his brother, not his dad," he stated. She was extremely flustered, but he wasn't sure if she understood him right, made him narrowing his eyes slowly to a more pensive look. "You _do_ realize I'm asking you out right now, do you?"

"Y-you do...?!" So, she had not misunderstood him, and she was pretty much thrown into a bucket of shy- and silliness. It's been years that she had a crush on someone and then that someone really had to asked her out, Quinn was not sure how to behave correctly, she felt _again_ like a stupid teenager, just like the day she had met Law first who had overrun her with his good looks.

Half-lidded and feeling like an idiot, Sabo himself looked with lightly tinted cheeks away, rubbing his neck while he wondered if he should regret his question. "Oh man, you make me feel more embarrassed now for asking..."

"No no no! I didn't say no...! I mean, I didn't say yes either...! I mean, no! Yes! Ahh don't misunderstand me...! I would love to...! I mean, not love! No! I mean yes! I mean sure! God!"

His eyes slowly shifted back to her. "So many yes and noes..."

She tried to pull herself together, saying in an overconfident tone like a groaning wrestler, "I do have time! Let's bring it on!"

Laughing a little confused about that deepened voice, he said, "okay?"

Quinn covered her face in her palm, realizing how stupid that was. "Please don't think I'm always like that..."

"Just the first, the second, the third, the fourth time, and now," he replied, counting them on his hand. "Oh, and the sixth."

Unamused, she stared at him. "Huh? The sixth?"

"It doesn't happen yet, but I can already see it."

Her mouth corners sank and she leaned her forehead against the wall, slugging her shoulders rather depressive with an ironic thumb up. "Thanks... I feel so much more confident with you now."

"Sabooo!" Luffy suddenly called out as he opened his classroom door.

 _Life-saver!_ Quinn thought.

The raven-haired boy ran over to the young man and wrapped his arm around him.

Sabo looked confused down at him. "Since when are you huggi- hey what? Hey, don't just steal my phone!"

Luffy turned his back to him with a big happy grin and the calling device in his hand. "But I have to check on my crew!"

"Give it to miss Heady," Sabo ordered.

With a displeased face, he tilted his head around and said annoyed, "whaaat? Doesn't she have an own phone?"

She drop-sweated.

Lowering his eyelids then, Sabo threatened, "I gonna delete your game."

Luffy shot some air through his nose with a grumpy face, forcing himself to hand his teacher the cellphone, quite grouchily.

"Just make a new contact and type your number in, I'll contact you when I have time."

She looked at Sabo who smiled at her smoothly just too polite and gentle. Yap, a total crush, she was happy.

* * *

After work and a long conference, Quinn wanted to head home and considered sharing with Judy what happened today. It was 50-50 if she should do since she wasn't sure if Judy would tease her, look for flaws on Sabo, or become too curious about it. But just as happy people were, Quinn had the need of sharing the new information with someone, and her best friend was the only candidate.

She got a message in the evening to head to the bar after work instead. It's been a while that they had eaten outside compared to before when they had done that quite often together. There had been just this one incident when Judy drank too much and left her theoretically alone, due to her mental absence, in a group of horny men the brunette had been talking to which were for a gang bang. Worst experience ever. She thought she would get rape that night if there hadn't been Milo, the barkeeper who had thrown them one by one with his thick biceps out and lent her money for a cab. Judy, who found the story even funny when she had been told the day after, though never became drunk again ever since and they didn't return together there for eating out either.

So, it would be the first time since long and she wondered if the menu had changed much. Probably not because it was only half a year, but she didn't know the menu that well anyway as she tended to always order the same. Potato pancakes with applesauce.

As she entered the pub, it was already pretty full house. Milo who stood behind the drink bar, the first thing you would face when you entered the L-shaped room, recognized her right away and waved at her. She walked over to him with a smile.

"Quinn, it's been a while to see you here," the man in his early thirties said.

"Yeah I was kinda traumatized, I'm sorry," she responded and bit her tongue cheekily.

He crossed his arm over the bar and leaned a little forward. "Don't worry, those guys are banned from here after they tried to get back in violently."

"Oh, how do you do the recognizing?" Quinn questioned, washing her hand in circular motion over her face.

He laughed. "Well, we recognize the group and maybe a few single faces sometimes, but they're harmless anyway when they're without their pack."

"I see," she said. "But! I'm over my trauma and Judy said she'll never get drunk like that again."

He raised a brow. "I think she already got her third drink today since she arrived."

"If you wanna get Judy tipsy, you need at least five," Quinn told him, pointing out all her five fingers on one hand.

Milo was surprised about that. He remembered her to have a good tolerance but thought for her look that five was the limit. "How much had she drunken back then to get that wasted?"

Placing her finger to her lips, Quinn hummed in thoughts. "Hm... Ten... I call it 'Ten Shots of Judy', but the hangover was no joke. She literally hung over the bucket the whole day."

"Only ten?"

"I don't wanna know what will happen when she has eleven shots, so don't you come with 50," the blonde said, appalled by the thought. "The legend says she was even worse back then and didn't get drunk even after ten, but her tolerance cooled down as she had an alcohol free phase for two years."

"Oh man, that woman," he replied and laughed. "She's by the way around the corner with some guys again."

Quinn narrowed her brows. "You're serious?!"

"Yap."

Sighing out, she threw the barkeeper a last look and walked around the corner to her friend. The blonde hoped it wouldn't turn out like the last time, that it were at least nice guys she had bumped into.

"Oi, Quinn!" A male voice called her in the round shaped booth her friend was sitting in.

Quinn's eyes widened in great surprise as she saw the two familiar faces next to each other in company with the brunette. "What?! You two?!"

Her praying had been heard, they _were_ nice guys. Standing at the table, she looked at them and guessed carefully their names, "you were Penguin aaand... Shhhachi."

Judy, who sat on the left side of the booth, said, "I bumped into them and Law."

"What, he's here too?" Quinn voiced her shock. It took no long until she had a bad realization and rushed her face over to the two guys. "Wait what?! Your doctor-friend is Trafalgar?!"

They smiled, Penguin saying, "we were just as surprised as you. When he saw your umbre-"

"My umbrella is with you?!"

"Uhm yeah, you forgot it last time."

"Oh my god! I thought I lost it somewhere!" Quinn suddenly was floated with relief, so much of it readable in her eyes. "And where's Trafalgar now?"

"Reparking the car," Shachi told. "We've been parking a little too far, but since a big group just left, are some parking spots close by free."

She was still taken aback and didn't cease her look at the two as she took place next to Judy who budged up a little. "Holy, what a super small world! How are you guys? How are _you_ Penguin?!"

"We're doing good, and you?" Penguin responded.

"Me too," Quinn said and her look fell on his forehead to see a reddish-purple line on his skin, right where his wound had been. "Woah, is that the scar from the injury?"

He touched it carefully. "Yeah, Law said it'll fade within a few weeks. But otherwise, I'm totally fine, no problems, it could've been worse."

"That's great to hear. Poor Penguin."

He smiled a little shyly to her worries, his cheeks having a slight tint in color. Shachi though didn't find that welcoming at all, or well, he was kind of jealous that his mate was the one to receive her lovely care again.

But Quinn giggled out of nowhere. "This is so funny, it sounds like I'm talking to an actual abused penguin."

The redhead grinned, finding his amusement then and started to mock him. "Right? Poooor Penguin."

"How come he's called Penguin anyway?" Judy asked. She was leaning comfortably back in her pencil skirt, longer than usual since that was her wardrobe for the office.

Shachi still appreciated what was seen of her bronze legs, made his gaze falling down to them now and then. Geez, he envied Law to have someone like her to get laid, thus it miffed him that his mate received so much care from the blonde. He didn't want to be the one who ended empty-handed among his guys.

"Great question," Quinn said and leaned a little forward with her elbows on the table. "What's your real name?"

"It's-" Penguin paused himself. "No one calls me like that anyway."

"Poor Penguin."

Judy raised a brow and pointed her eyes over to Shachi. "But he knows it, right?"

"I do, but my lips are sealed," the redhead told and pretend to zip his mouth.

Eyeing their faces, Quinn rubbed her chin thoughtfully and fixed them with slitted eyes. "Is it because you two are perhaps a couple since your names are matching, but you're too embarrassed to admit?"

Judy smiled a little to that guess and added casually, "we're not homophobic, don't worry."

"Woaaah, I always wanted to have a gay best friend!" Quinn called out in excitement. Her eyes drifted over to Judy who stared at her with a brow rose, querying her words, so that Quinn had to correct into some more precision, "a _male_ gay best friend."

"Ahh no, we're 100% straight!" Penguin stated.

His mate pointed at himself, saying, "I'm even 200%!"

Casually, Quinn looked over to Judy. "Weren't there those studies that claimed when guys stated to be over 100% hetero, they tend to be gayer than they like?"

"Yeah, I heard that too just recently," she responded, nodding.

The redhead panicked a little. "What no! I'm out for women! Beautiful women! No dick and stuff! You two are beautiful!"

"We're just kidding," Judy said with a wide smile and added before sipping her drink, "but thanks for the compliment."

"Naaaw, you two are so adorable!" Quinn said then, leaning over the table to pinch Shachi's cheeks a bit. Not that she was always that open-minded for touching but only when she really liked someone either in a younger sibling or... almost pet-like way.

"Uh... thank you..." Shachi said awkwardly. That was not what he had wished or even expected, he felt treated unfairly by the universe. But as Quinn had leaned forward, his eyes tried to stay calm as he could glimpse right into her blouse. _Universe...!_

"Quinn, we already ordered by the way," Judy told her and she turned her attention to her friend.

Using her distraction, Shachi's orbs wandered down and then over to Penguin, seeing him to had noticed the same as his look into her cleavage was pungent. Enough was sightable to tell what color her bra was, which was black. Their somewhat perplexed eyes immediately rushed up ahead as she straightened back.

"Hm... I'll get to the front and order there then," Quinn said and moved out of the booth with her bag.

She walked over to the bar and reception, taking one of the leathery bar seats. Who had thought to see those two guys again in a bar _with_ Judy, _in connection_ _with_ Dr. Jerk, ending up _eating_ with them together? Not the squad she had ever imagined, but what happened just happened.

"And, what kinda guys are those? Should I kick them out?" Milo asked as he saw she had come back.

Quinn shook her head with an amused smile. "No no, I already made acquaintances with them before, those are nice guys. Just a coincidence because they're friends with someone she knows."

"Well, yer leaving them alone?"

"I just wanted to order at the reception and maybe something to drink," Quinn said and picked the menu, glancing over it.

"Well then, just tell me when you know what you wanna drink."

"Yooop," she said and the barkeeper turned away to continue what he was doing.

Quinn scanned the selection and was unsure if she shouldn't just go for potato pancakes as usual. Therefore that she had been eating at this place quite a lot were the dishes still not familiar with her. Too many that made her unsure if it was good enough and worth the money.

"I would take the burger." Way too close was Law's voice that she sensed his presence right behind her. "Peanut," he addressed the girl as he looked over her shoulder into the menu as well, but straightened smoothly back when she turned to him.

Casual as always stood he with his hands hidden in his jeans, staring at her slightly grim expression. "Thanks for your recommendation, but nope thanks," she answered him dryly.

A little sly smile formed his lips when he took the empty stool next to her like his behavior was a matter of course. Since she hadn't seen the transition from winter to spring clothing on him, it took her eyes instantly as he sat with a somewhat low- and wide cut, body-emphasizing long-sleeve shirt in front of her, his tattoos glimpsing out from the black fabric and the bit of the yellow layer underneath, over his collarbones to his neck. Also on his trained forearms were they placed, sightable as he had his sleeves rolled up. She liked tattoos, something else she found out about herself, it looked so cool. Before it got any obvious, her orbs moved back to his face and she asked him with a touch of displeasure. "Haven't you order yet either or why you're here?"

Sitting with his side to the bar counter, he leaned his head against the light fist he made, his elbow resting on the surface of the wood. His little smile stayed so far as he responded, "I just saw you alone here, so I thought about giving you company."

Curling her mouth corners up with some sarcasm, Quinn was still in rejection. "Okay? Great, but I'll struggle enough to swallow my food in your attendance later."

He then calmly eyed her sarcastic face without the effort of hiding it, and it got even more obtrusive when she followed the look of his gray orbs down, scanning her to the shoes. "Is it right for an elementary school teacher to wear high heels at work?"

Quinn blushed lightly with narrowed brows. "The dress code said as long it's not too much skin or too juvenile. Four inches are by the way not that high."

He remembered that he already told her sneakers would fit her character more. Not that those heels wouldn't suit her look, it was just funny to witness what rainbow-puking person was displaying such man-hooking footwear. And not that he wanted to be confused with any sexist, it was just fact that the male gender noticed high heels faster and connected them with sex appeal rather than conservatism.

"How come Penguin and Shachi are friends with someone like you?" Quinn suddenly asked him as she shot him with suspicion.

"How come you ask?" The question would be more, how come _she_ was friends with them.

She narrowed her orbs and thought of the two, comparing them with the guy in front of her. "Because they're lovely dorks, and you're... you know."

"Jerk? Bastard? Moldy bread? Horny hamster?"

Quinn smiled sassy, satisfied that she didn't have to explain it. "I said you know."

Law chuckled a bit. His hand lowered down to his chin as he cocked his head conceited, crossing his legs. "Then let me apologize."

Forming a curve with her hand around her ear, the blonde requested a repeat. "Huh? Did you say something?"

"I apologize to you, Miss Heady."

"Wait." From her bag on her lap, she pulled out her cell phone and turned the camera on to film him. "Now say that again for the whole world, the future should be part of this wonder."

"I'm apologizing to you and you're making fun of it?"

She put the device down and smiled. "Doc, you don't believe yourself, do you? I bet you don't even know what you're apologizing for."

"Why should I not?"

She adapted his posture to the bar unwittingly, looking at him in anticipation. "Then tell me what you're apologizing for."

There was actually nothing in his mind that made him thinking of the need to apologize except for one thing. "For calling you a bad teacher." He hadn't meant it back then, it was just a joke that was rather misplaced. That it would bother her so much had been out of his expectation and was anything else than amusing.

Quinn though was not convinced about that apology, especially not the number of thoughts it stood for. "Only?"

But he cared less. "Yes."

And so did she. "Nope, I decline."

Closing his eyes to another chuckle she caused, he wondered if he should let it be then, or if he should give it another shot. Between their fronts, she already had drawn the battle line, but he was not finished yet. It would be a waste to let that 'war' continue after all the people he had met, to find someone as... well, how should he word it? Was it really entertaining or amusing? Sympathetic? Anyway, someone that amused him through their character and joint interaction, and not only their misery that fed his gloat.

So he indeed eventually gave it another attempt. "Let's say, I buy you any drink you want and you just accept it."

"Oh, buying me a drink? Had someone done his homework?" Quinn said in surprise, raising both her brows. But since it was coming from him, she wasn't sure how serious he was with the apology or if he just threw with money. Free drink to go though. "I still don't take this sincerely, but I take the drink."

"You don't have to," he answered - referring to the first part of her sentence, gesturing his hand gently to the drink menu - referring to the second part.

She smiled sassily again and quirked her brows up before she turned to the barkeeper who was polishing the glasses. "Milo, what's your most expensive alcohol free drink?"

The barkeeper looked at her, knowing the answer right away. "It's a special lemon-dragonfruit cocktail with secret ingredients."

"Just give me that please," she chose with no hesitation.

So, the most expensive one. Her decision forced briefly a smile on his face. "You really make use of it."

"It would be dumb from me when I'm not."

Grabbing the drink menu then, he scanned over the selection with the more bearable prices. "You could be modest and choose something else."

The blonde raised a brow with another pert look, a little amused herself, if not even in _gloat_. "Do I have to be modest in front of _you_?"

He put the menu down. "Fair enough."

The drink shifted over the bar pretty quick. A glowing pinkish liquid with tiny dark dots floating within was inside a freshly polished glass, the yellow straw standing with a shrub mint leaves out its unnatural looking color. On its edge hung a slice of a lemon, rather as decoration. "Here it goes sweety, a Mr. Immoral."

Quinn raised a brow by the name. "Interesting choice for a non-alcoholic."

"Drink that and you'll do things you never considered before," Milo joked but dropped "just kidding," right after that it hadn't even had the chance to be funny.

Quinn leaned closer to the bar counter with one arm, smiling at the barkeeper. "Can we pay now? I wanna capture the moment to its fullest with all my senses when he pays me a drink."

"Lost a bet? Rivalry? Funny date? But those are eleven bucks."

"Neither of them," she replied casually and didn't bother his question any further but instead played with the drink by shifting and stabbing the straw in it.

Eleven bucks for a non-alcoholic, he had no words for that. But as promised, Law took out his wallet from the back of his jeans and paid the overpriced cocktail.

"Happy?" He asked her and looked at her enjoyed face.

"Ouh yes. And now..." She slowly moved her lips to the straw and suck it with high expectations.

"Eleven worth?" Law questioned with a brow rose in slight curiosity.

"Who the hell pays so much money for this?!" Her eyes had grown in appall as she tasted the extortion, eyeing it in great disbelief. As Milo had listened, his attendance not far from them, she looked shocked over to him and tried to explain herself in embarrassment, "I-I mean, it's not bad...! Still good, but just not worth eleven...!"

"It's alright, not my recipe, I think it's overpriced as well," he comforted her with his honesty.

Relieved, she turned her attention back to Law and sucked the straw with relish, almost provocative. "But for this case, eleven were _totally_ worth it."

His right mouth corner quirked up in a light snicker. "Still mad then?"

She looked up in thoughts and said, "hm... I would say, we declare a truce for the moment."

"I spent eleven bucks on a drink that wasn't even worth it, and you only conclude an armistice between our forces? You're an unfair player."

"I never said I would forgive you, I only accept the apology," Quinn reminded him. "Or... does it concern you that I hate you?"

He raised a brow to her word-choice. "Hate is a strong word, Peanut."

"Strong emotions deserve strong wording."

As she kept her victorious look on him a la 'well, that's how it goes', he smirked smoothly against his palm. "You're an unfair player."

"What else do you- wait." Quinn had a thought. A quite sarcastic and ridiculing thought. She opened her bag and pulled out a bunch of stickers that she usually used to mark her students' good work.

"Don't."

Law lowered his eyelids, unamused. "I've said, don't."

She had attached a 'well-done' star on his cheek and smiled satisfied about it, turning back to the bar. "Milo, what do you recommend from the menu?"

"The burger, really great one!" He answered, his attention falling swiftly to her company then. "Cute sticker."

"Ahh, I don't eat meat..." Quinn said.

Oh right. Law had forgotten that she was a pescetarian.

"We got a veggie lasagna, great too."

"Then it's decided! Thank youu!' The blonde jumped up from her seat, walking a few meters along the counter to approach another staff behind, ordering her dish.

Law tilted his head a little after her and watched the young woman calmly. So, was everything between them cool now, or at least somehow cooled down? He wouldn't go for a third attempt if she was still thinking they were at war with each other and acting accordingly.

"Aren't you the guy that slept with Stella once?"

Law tilted his face to the barkeeper then who looked at him thoughtfully. Stella? Probably the waitress here in the bar he had bedded once. Though he wasn't sure about it, he stayed kind enough to answer with the truth, "could be."

But it came off rather blunt and shameless so that Milo gave him an unfriendly look before he turned back to his work. The young man cared less though and got back on his feet as well, peeling off the sticker on his face, which he trashed. He walked back to their booth, right behind Quinn.

"Oi, you two have run into each other? What took you so long?" Shachi said as the bunch saw them finally returning.

"Geez Quinn, what's that? Looks fancy," Judy said in confused surprise as she spotted the pink drink.

The blonde returned to her place. "A Mr. Immoral."

Remembering the price on the drink menu for it, Penguin was in shock. "Isn't that hella expensive for a cocktail?"

"Trafalgar paid."

Judy's eyes twitched for a moment as Quinn mentioned that, made her say quietly, "he paid you a drink?"

The group shifted all eyes on him, irking him a little that they did. He tried to maintain his nonchalance. "A truce declaration."

Penguin folded his arms comfortably over the table, eyeing the drink in fascination. "How does it taste? Eleven bucks must be fancy!"

"You can try it, it's alcohol-free," Quinn said and shifted it over to him.

Staying calmly on his seat with one arm hanging over the booth, Law studied Penguin's reaction to it. He hadn't bought her an expensive drink to have her sharing it with someone, but well, it was under her full possession now, so he had no right of decision.

Penguin looked over to Law who was alight by a carefree face, and then back to Quinn a little uncertain. "Uhm, it's really okay when I?"

"It's not like I expect you to have HIV," she responded with a smiling eye roll. "... or, do you?"

"He has," Shachi said in deadpan out of huffing jealousy.

His friend looked at him, unamused. "What?"

"No waaay, poor Penguin!" Quinn stated, almost too naive looking.

Gritting his teeth behind his quirking lips, he pointed with his thumb annoyed to the redhead whose malice smile wandered to the side as his mate grumbled a little in exasperation of his unfunny side comments, "don't listen to that guy, ignore his presence."

As the female eyes moved over to Shachi, he urged himself out of the awkwardness by changing the subject, getting off from his lazy placing on the seat to bent a bit over, looking at Law who was only parted from him by Penguin. "Oi Cap, what's going on?"

Law's attention had drawn to the TV on the wall for a moment but moved his eyes back to the round. "Just local news about some mafia guy. Doesn't matter."

Penguin meanwhile had tasted the cocktail, not thrilled about it.

"Did you just call him Cap?" Quinn questioned a little confused.

They smiled somewhat sheepish but not really ashamed, more amused, having Penguin explaining, "ah yeah... we just played too much One Piece."

"What's One Piece?" Judy wondered as someone who was not familiar with video games at all.

A happy smile washed over there faces, Shachi telling, "a pirate game where you have to build an own crew, and since Law's the coolest among us, we made him our Captain."

Judy giggled a little with her fingertips gently on her lips as she gave Law her merried and surprised look. "You're playing video games?"

" _They_ do," he responded with lazy attitude.

Quinn narrowed her eyes in query. "No, the more interesting question is: why's _he_ the coolest among you?"

"Why not?" Penguin asked.

"Friendship should be at least equal. I'm not saying I'm cooler than Judy."

"There's always a cool one." He points to Law. "A nice one." He points at himself. "And a stupid one." He points to Shachi.

"What the-?!" Shachi reacted.

Looking over to the redhead, Quinn smiled a little and found it adorable how they were always fighting. "Penguin, that's not nice for a nice guy. Make you all at least equally stupid."

"Yeah! Stupid idiot _squared_ ," Shachi agreed. "Law's cool because he's strong, smart and handsome," he answered matter-of-factly, leaning with folded arms annoyed back and muttered quietly to his mate, "dumbass..."

His response made the blonde digesting it with a blank silent expression until she pointed with her finger to both of the guys, asking, "you're sure you two are not gay?"

"I saw the sparkle in their eyes," Judy joined her with a small smirk of mockery while she eyed her last drops of her drink in the glass she held.

It made Quinn turning surprised to her. "Me too!"

"We're not gay...! He's just a cool guy! A great friend!"

His statement changed Quinn's expression quickly, and she looked half-lidded at Law, raising skeptically a brow. "A great friend?"

That she still had to question his character, it made him choosing to ask her back with some discreet tease, "unexpected?"

"Very," she said. "And what makes him such a great friend?"

Shachi sank his mouth corners, trying to come up with examples. "Uhh, uhm..."

"Here, the guy that had hit me on the head! He got over to him and solved the problem, even non-violently!" Penguin told in great conviction. Still, he was aware that there was some antagonism between the two - at least from her side, hence he wanted to show her that his friend was actually not a bad guy.

Quinn lifted both her brows in surprise, cocking her head up slowly and conceited. "Non-violently? Is that so?"

"The guy was a bastard though and attacked him, so he had to manhandle him a little, but nothing serious. We got what we wanted, an apology and so on."

"Trafalgar?" She said just to assure that she didn't confuse anything.

"Yeah!"

The blonde turned her face to Judy, who asked, "why are you looking at me?" Rather in innocence as she had no concerns with Law.

Quinn tilted her gaze to Law then, falling back to skepticism, though a little overdone. "You're not a twin or something? Law Philip Trafalgar?"

"Philip?" Law said with a brow rose.

"Ah, it's just the first random name I came up with."

The young man chuckled soundlessly as his eyes closed for the moment, finding it quite funny how her reaction to his companion's image of him was. He looked back at her, tilting his head a little to his shoulder. "Miss Heady, you're judging me."

"I'm not _judging_ you, I'm forming a picture of conjectures by the way you're behaving," she told with a pair of big innocent looking orbs, gesturing to him with her palm open to the top.

Law smirked lazily, confident knowing that she wouldn't be able to answer the simple next question. "What's the difference?"

To his confirmation, she really wasn't but pierced his gray eyes in unwanted defeat. "Touché..."

Seeing her snappy aura on him, Penguin said a little discomforted to their obvious tension, "ah... we heard you two are kinda cat and dog."

Quinn didn't quit her eye contact with Law, which he returned even with the drink in his hand he nipped. "You did? Wow, you're really friends," said she as she hadn't expected him to share such trivial information with them.

"Twelve years!" Shachi stated.

That fact shocked her instantly and she darted over to him. "Twelve?! I don't even know Judy that long!"

Judy's eyes had grown in surprise as well. "Quinn, we don't even know each other a half of that time."

"God Trafalgar, you're more social than I thought."

His brows twitched pertly up for a quarter of a second, leaving her statement with no comment.

Their conversation got interrupted by the waitress that carried a tray with her, serving them their ordered food. Quinn's was still taking a little since she had ordered later, but she wasn't in a starving hurry anyway. Cute was it though, as she noted that _Penguin_ had ordered Fish'n'Chips.

"Do you want anything else to drink?"

"Ah, for me another scotch," Judy said and handed the waitress her empty glass. At the table, she was the only one to refill.

Quinn looked at her friend. "But don't forget your promise, Judy."

"Oh Quinn, this was just my first drink."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** I don't pay attention to chapter length and just do as it comes, so hope you don't mind longer._

 _ **Mei** \- Thank you so much for your review, it was really sweet and made me genuinely happy that I had to reread it xD (Ok, all reviews do and made it even sweeter to write that fic) Glad you like the pace, I was unsure if it was not too slow for the readers since other fanfics were sooner into action (When I said SlowBurn, I meant it haha). An glad you love the character development of Law (yeah, cocky jerk) and that you're curious enough for more. Of course I would love to read more of your reviews, but I appreciate your reading also without, so no stress haha :) *claps for earning a junkie reader* LOL. Thank you again and I hope you'll keep enjoying this story, stay tuned for Quinn and Law~_


	20. Ten shots of Judy

**20\. Ten shots of Judy**

The company, which Quinn didn't spend voluntarily with Law, was much more tolerable than she had imagined. Of course, many of his comments were like an unpleasant pinstripe, but he was quieter than usual for his standards (or the one she knew). More reserved. It was still strange, as it seemed normal for the others; like he didn't really get on the wrong side of any of those present.

Well, Quinn felt messed with.

Why was he so reserved? Where were his little teasings? His arrogant and cocky smirks did appear now and then, but all in all, he was just too in serenity as if his thoughts were elsewhere. But she was annoyed when he looked at her every time she pushed the fork into her mouth, silent as death. Like he was waiting for something to happen, as calm as his radiance was. Anything but inflamed by his nature, even when bearable, Quinn tried to pay no attention to that guy. Every few ten to fifteen minutes, she drew her cell phone and hoped for a notification from Sabo. He said, when he got time, so she concluded that he was still working, spent some quality time with the family, or was already sleeping.

"What's so interesting on your phone?" Judy leaned closer to her and looked curiously at the screen.

Quinn turned it off without giving her much consideration. "Nothing."

A malicious smirk formed on her face and Judy continued her eating. It took about five seconds before she said something mocking again. "Wait for someone, huh?"

With unaffected eyes, the blonde looked at her. "I only check the time."

"Uhu," she replied. "Is that a synonym for... what was his name again?"

"I see no reason to be ashamed of it."

"Sabo!" She remembered.

Law's eyes turned to the two, also those of his companions. "What are you two talking about?" Shachi asked, more innocent than you would expect.

"Quinn got a crush on some guy." Of course, Judy had to drift out again, she simply enjoyed her friend's embarrassment and how her cheeks turned pink.

"This is not just some guy," said Quinn, unpleased about her way of expression. "He's a very nice guy and the big brother of one of my students."

It hit Shachi and Penguin like a stab in the heart when she talked about some crush she had. It wasn't a final decision, but she suddenly seemed so unapproachable that they didn't even dare to flirt with her in any way.

"Dating the big brother of a student, is that even legal?" Law asked.

"Well, he's not his real, official, blood-related," Quinn noted, speaking in all carefreeness, "so, yes, it's legal."

Law didn't say much to it, in fact, he was almost deathly quiet.

"And, what kinda guy's he? What's his job?" Judy wanted to know.

A shy smile shone on Quinn's lips as the thought of Sabo filled her somehow with admiration and attraction. "He's working full-time with the revolutionaries, just came back from a six-month trip abroad, a pretty cool big brother, sense of humor, very polite."

Shachi and Penguin had officially given up. How can an electric salesman and a car mechanic compete with it, the two thought.

"So, Miss Heady likes good-guys," Law said as a side comment.

Her eyes turned to him, displeased. "From your mouth, everything sounds so ridiculous..."

"I've only said one fact."

"Yes. Not all women like _bad-boys_."

He smirked, albeit less strongly than before.

His commentary was nevertheless quite random, Judy was surprised. Law was the guy who didn't speak out something such obvious and meaningless. It was categorized under small-talk, and he did so only when he wanted to fuck her. But their sleep-rituals were so established that he didn't even really do that with her anymore. "Ha, someone like him suits you."

Quinn blushed at her statement, even though it sounded somewhat disparaging. It was certainly not meant to be disparaging. "I guess..."

Judy took her wallet and pulled 20 bucks out, all in one bill. "Can anyone change, I wanna get a drink?"

"Just pay with the note," said Penguin, puzzled.

"Naah, they give everything back here in small money, don't like that."

When the male part of the group had to adjust, since Law had used his little cash for the cocktail, and the other two had just money for themselves, Quinn also took a look. She dug in her bag for her wallet and became almost panicky when she didn't find it. "I think I've lost my wallet!"

"No, you forgot it at home," Judy corrected. "Still seen it today after you left the house."

"What? Ouh maaaan..." Quinn hung her head and sighed. Her gaze shifted to her empty lasagna form, and she stood up. "Judy, if you not happen to be able paying in advance for meeee... then I have to go home." She didn't dare to ask Law, let alone the other two, whom she barely knew.

"Sorry, not enough for your lasagna." She never took her credit card or a lot of money to work.

Tired, the blonde moved out of the booth and out of the bar. Something like this could happen, especially if she didn't really need her wallet every day during work. She got inside the bus without a ticket, 90% of the time, because around six in the morning, the bus was filled with a horde students, so that nobody made the effort to scan their ticket at all. No one even controlled that bus line.

...

"What the hell?! Judy!" Was Quinn's first comment when she entered the bar again after a long absence, more than had expected. She had made the bus home, but until the next one back had arrived, it took some time. Anyway, Judy didn't look particularly... normal. Not sober.

The group looked up to her and Shachi said, "Oh Quinn, you're back."

"No no no, how many shots?!" She sat down next to the brunette who smiled at her only in a top - her decollete attracting gazes.

"It's gotten pretty hot in here," she said.

As much as Penguin liked the view, he felt bad after Quinn's reaction that they had allowed Judy to drink so much. "I think she had three..."

Quinn's eyebrows reflected her horror. "She already had three before! She's getting-" Judy slumped around her waist. "...clingy." She had forgotten that fact herself, how could she have been so stupid and believed Judy's words when she spoke of her _first_ drink? Milo had already warned her, and yet she let that irresponsible-something out of sight. "Why didn't you guys stop her?"

"We're not her babysitter," said Law. "She as an adult woman insisted on drinking."

Pretty displeased about his answer, she asked the other two for an answer, who claimed, "she seemed alright then, we're sorry."

And she couldn't be mad at them, their answer was quite legitimate. "There are ten different phases of Judy getting drunk."

"Ten? That's a lot," Shachi said.

A dark shadow hovered over her blue eyes, and she spoke in a gloomy tone, "drink one - no effect, drink two - no effect."

The mysterious veil around her was quickly dismembered by Law. "So basically, those are just eight phases when the first two are effectless."

"Yeahh... but I like to count it through the amount of drinks she has. However." Quinn continued her act. "Drink three - her memory's getting somewhat spongy, but she's sober enough though."

Enlightenment fell into Shachi and Penguin's eyes and the redhead said with a snip, "that explains why she told you, she only had one drink when you reminded her!"

"Right, if I hadn't talked to the barkeeper again, my theory would've been a mess," Quinn replied, nodding approvingly. "Good attention."

Finally, an appreciation of her. He smiled slightly but proudly, so obvious that it was annoying Law. _How pathetic_ , he thought.

"Drink four - she's getting a little loosen up, less calm." She looked at her friend and saw how that one was just constantly staring into her cleavage while her brown head lay on her shoulder, her arms still wrapped around her.

"Ah, I think she had flirted with me before!" Penguin said as a side note.

"Yeah, she did since you're cute."

And again, it was unwelcome for the redhead, and he also expressed himself so with a "what the-," but pulled back a gear and looked only miffed around. _I get it, women like him more than me!_ He told himself.

Quinn smiled sassily. "Now we're getting to the game. This is when she's officially tipsy."

"She still had appeared sober then," Penguin said, when he compared how other tipsy's were leaving an impression on him.

In a hush, Quinn pointed her finger at him. "That's the deceiving thing since drink three! Any guesses what stadium five was to your observation?"

He guessed. "Uhh, she's laughing a lot?"

"No! She's constantly hiccuping!" Shachi tried.

It surprised her since she had never experienced Judy in a hiccup. "Wow, that's even new to me."

"She talks. A lot," Law said.

Quinn looked to the guy with a big smile and pointed her finger at him. "Right! Point for you."

His right mouth corner twitched a little up, almost to a smile before he noticed how silly that was, to be happy by getting some praise from her, too. Annoyed about that brief moment, he rolled his eyes, to his own behavior, away.

Flexing all her five fingers on one hand, the blonde said, "drink five - If you know her, you'll wonder why she's talking so much in male attendance."

"Oh, I thought this was normal as she's a woman," Penguin said, not really impressed by that phase.

Quinn lowered her lids and pointed her eyes halfhearted to him. "Hey sexist, this means nothing."

"She was talking at least as much as you, Peanut," Law claimed.

Her eyes moved annoyed back to him. "I'm sorry for having a waterfall in my mouth."

He smirked.

"Anyway, drink si-"

"Quinn, aren't ya feelin' hot in here too?" Judy cut her off out of nowhere.

"What?" Confused, she drifted her gaze back into Judy's studying eyes. But this shouldn't be too long, so she looked back into the round. "Drink six - she's getting clingy to me and tends to undress herself a little. I don't know who she would cling to when I'm not there."

Slowly, Law found it amusing. "You-"

"Judy!"

The brunette fiddled on her blouse and tried to unbutton it. "Looking at you like that, I can't cool down..."

Quinn defended herself, obviously against a half-drunken that kept trying. "And she undresses _me_...!"

"This is like watching you wearing a winter coat in a hot desert... You make me sweaty."

The next phase would be the one, Quinn was least able to stand. "However, drink seven - she's getting sexual."

Wonder showed up on the faces and Shachi asked, "what do you mean by sexual?"

"Well... pretty pervert." It was a little uncomfortable for the blonde.

Judy hugged her again, pulling her closer to her. "Law, who's prettier? Me or Quinny?"

"Quinny?" He asked with a raised brow.

The ghost of a smile crept over Quinn's lips as her eyes shifted to the side, the eyebrows wiggling. "Yes, this is also basically her soft side, her best friend side, her girly side, her silly side."

One of the few behaviors he had ever expected from the brunette. Quinny... He found it as matching as anything else idiotic on the blonde. The two women fit each other more than it appeared, one had only to be drunk.

Penguin, however, showed further curiosity. "And what is with drink eight?"

"Oh, let me guess!" Shachi shook. "She's getting high-spirited!"

"Oh, not bad," Quinn responded with a surprised look. "Sort of. She's getting crazy."

"Crazier than this?" Law pointed with a head movement to the brunette who was just busy brushing her own boobs with Quinn's hair tips.

"What are you doing...?"

Judy kept it quite casual and said, "your hair tickles, I love it."

Leaving it without words and a deep breath, Quinn turned back to the round and let her do whatever she was doing there. "No, crazier. She once had bitten a guy too deep when they were making out in his car, he was bleeding awfully."

"What?" Some shock expanded over Penguin and Shachi's faces. Unlike Law, who seemed rather calm, but also surprised in some way.

She noticed his slight reaction in his face. "You look surprised, is that your preferred sex?"

"I don't know what's so strange to react surprise to that," he replied.

"Your surprise was not like their surprise." She imitated the previous shock of the other two, though overdoing it a little. "More like a 'hm... interesting' surprise." And also with his imitation, she mixed it with mimics which he had not done.

However, he took it quite relaxed and stoop up to his reaction. "Well, it _is_ interesting when I recall that she never bites."

Those were then too much information, of which she would rather be excluded. "Ohh-kay... back to drink nine. This is when she's completely lost, only talking crap like drunks do."

"Example?"

"Stuff like... Why are bananas yellow, why do men have nipples, how would life as a man be."

"Those are legit questions somehow," said Shachi.

"Quiiinny!" Judy stretched out her arms before she hugged her friend tightly. "I love you!'

As hyped as she was, Quinn didn't take that amiss. "I actually kinda like the six-shot-Judy, she's so lovely to me like never."

Her hand wandered underneath Quinn's blouse and she spoke out her compliment a little too euphoric "Oh girl, what a belly!"

"Except for that, this is kinda embarrassing." Quinn's cheeks turned slightly pink, and she looked straight up with the attempt to remain calm.

"Have you ever seen Quinny naked?"

"Judy!" The blonde shouted out in shock.

"Her body is ridiculous. It's-" Clasping her hand in front of her mouth, she stopped Judy from sharing too much information about her privacy. "Mmm...he... Lemme... Tlk..."

And as much as she appreciated her open and honest way, sometimes it was just _too_ open. Quinn got up as Judy's attempts to talk drawn back. "Okay, short break. I will get her a glass of water."

As she disappeared from the table, the guys looked back at the brunette, who seemed pretty woozy.

"Uhm Judy, you're okay?" Penguin asked a little in worry. Her cheeks were not yet strong in color, but somewhere it already began.

"I'm totally fine, don't worry, she's just exaggerating," she asserted, waving her allegation of drunkenness off. Her attention went straight to Law. With a saucy look and raised shoulder, she asked him, "do you find me attractive?" She received no answer, but she didn't need it anyway, as much as she wanted to hear it. If he wouldn't find her attractive, they wouldn't have multiple times sex. Good sex. So she looked to the other two to find new affirmation. "Do you guys find me attractive?"

"Yes of course! You're very gorgeous!" They responded instantly.

"Thank you." She grabbed her back and pulled out a small bottle, filled with some alcohol.

"Where did you get that from?!" Asked Penguin, a little in panic.

She screwed the bottle open. "I gonna drink that bastard."

"Wait...!" He took it from her hands.

Displeased, but dazed, she looked after the bottle. "Hey, I brought that."

He shut it again and Shachi said, "we better give that Quinn."

"You were too slow, she drank that all." Law pointed out, and they looked helpless as they stared into the woman's direction, another small empty shot lingered on the table.

...

Quinn returned when she had finally been able to ask for her glass of water. The bar was now packed that made it a struggling fight at the counter. "God, it's so full," she said, coming back to the booth. "I've got your water, Judy."

"Uhh Quinn..."

"Hm?"

"Well..." The two roommates had a hard time expressing themselves.

Unlike Law, who cleansed her dryly. "Judy had brought shots herself and just drank it."

It was simply without words. The empty little whiskey bottle smiled at her just too provocatively, but Quinn didn't fly into any rage. Quietly and calm, she sat down beside her drunken friend, whose alcohol already took effect in her long absence, and only shook her head. It was mere but silent frustration. "Oh man."

"Quinn! Quinn! Quinn!" Judy called from the side.

Quinn tilted her head a little annoyed to her. "What is you not-promise-keeper?!"

The girl leaned closer to her and slid her hands over her friend's jaw, starting to place kisses on her lips, made her struggling to talk as she flinched her head away from her. "Yeah-, this-, is-, pervert Judy...!"

Shachi und Penguin blushed in surprise and delight at the little 'show' they presented. Two heterosexual, good-looking women, who were touching each other (Well...), that was the dream.

"When you said pervert, you didn't mention lesbian tendencies," said Law, looking at the spectacle himself in his nonchalance.

Quinn was able to stop her from continuing. "She's straight, she just has weird fantasies of-"

But Judy found her joy somewhere else and pushed up both of her friend's breasts. "My boobs are bigger than hers."

"Please ignore her...," Quinn said with a very embarrassed face down. But when she spotted Law's sudden smirk, her head heated up completely. "Why are you freaking smirking again?!"

"It's amusing to see how you handle her," he explained, enjoying how she didn't like it at all what her friend was doing there. And again, it was plain and simple cute and highly entertaining to watch. Even if his eyes were moving uncontrollably between her blouse, whenever Judy pushed her breasts up (Quinn was certainly stronger than Judy, but she struggled in her embarrassment to actually manhandle her friend), Law had not the intention to think sexually of the blonde. And it was hard.

As Quinn grabbed both of her wrists and pushed the woman to a halt, Shachi launched the next phase. "What's with the tenth drink?"

She let go of her friend, who dropped tired on the seat, and stared back into the round. "Oh that, that's the one she's just sad and wasted. So much, you can't even talk to her."

"Quinny."

"Hm?" Judy suddenly pushed her finger against her lips to insert it into her mouth. "What? Let that...! Ju-!"

"Suck."

"What the-!? J-! Let-!"

Okay, that was a bit too much for Law and he looked relaxed away, sipping his glass.

"I once had suggested Quinn to film-"

Quinn covered her mouth again. "Okay Judy, I guess it's time to head home now."

"Nnn..m..h"

"Ah, you already wanna leave?" Shachi asked, somewhat sadly.

"Yeah, otherwise she'll use all her energy and won't be able to walk anymore."

"Law can drive you home!" Penguin looked over to him.

Not that he begged them to stay, but he still could offer the service. "Yeah, I can do."

She declined anyway. "No, it's alright."

"Nooo stay, it's still early."

"Yeah, stay Quinn."

A cold wet chill widened from nothing on Quinn's blouse, and she stared down to it, seeing how Judy had dumped the glass of water with full intent on her. "Oops."

"Ju-" Quinn paused briefly for an inhalation. " _That's_ why I wanted to head home." She got up with a very exasperated face. "I gonna be in the restroom." As she walked off, Judy stared at her bag, and before her hands could reach for it, the blonde turned and pulled the bag away, well-aware of what might happen if she left it there. "And I gonna take this with me." Not that she had much to hide, but the principle counted.

Judy laughed. "Quinny is so funny when she's so uptight."

"Guys, we need to catch that on camera..." Shachi said, while his thoughts were still flying.

Even though Penguin enjoyed the feminine intimacy at the table himself, he couldn't resist the moment of saying something against his buddy. "You pervert."

Hearing that, Judy shouted, "who's da pervert? He?!"

Shachi waved frantically in defense. "What no!"

She winked at him.

His heart, his mind, his male something... "Shit..."

Judy stood up and swayed to the guys, sitting with spread knees on Law's lap. "Laaaw, how about some fun?"

He looked up at her, his eyes rather lazy. "You really need some sleep after this."

"Sleep with you?" Said she with a cheeky smile. "I can do best when drunk."

"No. Get down from me," he ordered flatly.

Shachi whispered a scream, full of frustration, "she's sooo naughty..."

His mate answered in the same way, "I knooow..."

Nothing was a bigger turn-off than a woman who smelled too much of alcohol. After seven drinks the brunette was already leading. "I'm wearing red tonight... You like?"

Shachi collapsed in her words. "Oh gawd..."

"This is too much for his heart," said Penguin, checking his pulse.

She didn't get the man she wanted though. "Judy, you-"

Her index finger sealed his lips. "You can do to me whatever you want."

In the back, Shachi was dying. "Goooosh!" How could Law refuse that? He would jump in instantly.

Her face meanwhile turned visibly red, Law had just no use for that. "Judy, you should get down."

"Oh god, Judy. I'm just gone for a moment and you're already on his lap," Quinn's voice sounded and she took her seat, warning Law, "hey Bread, don't make use of that."

"Don't worry. Sleeping with drunk women is not my style."

"Oh, scared to get puke on?"

He smirked a little. "No, I think it's wrong to sleep with someone who might have no clue about it."

Her eyebrows raised with a wondered face and a slow, respectful head-nod. "More gentleman than I thought."

His smirk widened somewhat. "The probability to get puke on in the hospital is higher anyway."

Her facial expression changed soon by those words, and with pinkish cheeks and some annoyance, she called her friend back like a pet. "Judy, heel."

But the brunette didn't hesitate and swung her way back to the other side, her balance getting worse and worse. As she sat at the edge, she stared at her friend's wet blouse. "You still got that on?"

"Why not?"

"I poured it over you, so you can get rid of it."

"Should I sit here without shirt?"

She grabbed her collar with finger and thumb and stared into her blouse. "Oh, you got nothing underneath?"

"Judy...!"

"Uh Quinn," Shachi said, picking up his zip hoodie. "You can wear my jacket if you want."

"Ah, no no, it's okay," she declined.

Judy pulled at her shirt. "No, undress Quinny."

Annoyed, she endured it for a moment, before she looked back at the redhead. "Okay, can I have it...?"

"Sure, here." He handed her the jacket.

"Thank you Shachi. I'll be right back." She got up and pushed herself between the table and Judy's legs, then screamed as the woman pinched her cheek. "Ow-!"

"Quinny, you got a sexy ass," Judy annoyed her and fixed her eyes on her buttocks. Such note earned of course also the attention of the two dorks. Law, however, didn't have to peek, he had already noticed that before as she stood in front of him, in her wet and skin-tight jogging pants.

Totally immersed in shame, Quinn immediately turned her back away from them. "No, we definitely head home when I'm back!"

She disappeared into the restroom to change the top, Law was almost sorry how much like a tomato her head looked. Almost. Quinn was definitely a number for herself, unlike the women he had to deal with so far, more entertaining. She was pretty - or 'hot' as his companions called it -, unfunny, innocent, slow in understanding, naive, but not stupid. He enjoyed her company more than he had expected.

"Oooh look, my hair disappears in my boobs," Judy said randomly as she watched her long chestnut-colored hair clamped between her breasts.

Law took his last gulp. "I think we should leave too."

"Are we gonna take them home?" Penguin wanted to know.

"If she asks me, I will."

"Ooops, my hair's in my bra now."

Not long and Quinn came back, putting her wet blouse into her bag. "Uh Shachi, I'll return your jacket when I come over to you guys to pick up my umbrella, is that okay?"

"Sure it is, no stress," he said with a smile.

"Alright." She turned to her drunken friend. "Well, Judy, let's go."

"Alreaaady? I want something to drink first!"

"You had enough tonight."

Judy leaned back in defense and refused. "Nooo! I want Law to buy me a drink too!"

Oh, she just didn't get what fascinated her so much about that guy. "Draw the battle line, wait until he says something mean and there you go."

"I won't go, this is not fair," Judy said, lowering her cheek into her hand with a sullen look.

"You need help?" Law asked with a sly smile.

For her proud standing, the blonde declined. "No..."

He eyed this more closely, seeing the brunette refusing to leave and struggling against her friend. "The offer stays."

Quinn sighed heavily. That she really had to say that now, she couldn't believe herself... "Judy, let's get home, we gonna have fun there."

"What fun? Not pictionary again."

She smiled. "Let's film a video together."

Her words brightened her eyes. "With lingerie and toys?!"

The blue eyes closed for a moment and paused. "...yes."

Judy jumped up with new motivation, moving out of the booth.

In relief, the blonde turned to Law. "See I-" His look displayed her his very surprised thinking. "N-no...! Don't think I would really do that...! I-I just said that, uhh, so... Judy, getting up and...! Really...!" Not even for a million she would do anything related to that, just no.

"Everybody listen! Quinny and I are gonna do hot stuff tonight! You'll find our videos online! Blonde and brunette hot chicks in here!"

"No..." She just stood on a table, Quinn couldn't believe it.

Law glanced to the blonde, trying to hold back his laugh. He hoped to find her reddened face totally sunken in shame, what he then did. But it was more pitiful than he had expected as Quinn glared at him totally helpless in her desperate embarrassment, almost in the stadium of crying. His eyes closed and he chuckled in disbelief about what he was just witnessing. How could he not help that desperate puppy look of hers?

"Just type in, ww-"

"Enough for today, Judy," Law said as he pulled her down from the table, carrying her in his arms outside.

Penguin and Shachi grabbed Judy's left stuff and followed him and Quinn right away out of the bar to the car.

Judy couldn't stop giggling and babbling about what she planned to do with her best friend. It would have been more amusing if she wouldn't talk that wasted, made it hard to even listen so that he decided to ignore it.

Quinn drifted next to him with furrowed brows. "I'm so sorry... I..."

"I told you we gonna take you home." What a fortune that he had reparked the car, or otherwise they would have had to walk that piece, the brunette definitely incapable. "I hope she's just not puking in my car."

"Ah, she won't. Only the next morning..."

"Are you living far from here?" Shachi asked, and she told him it was probably only ten minutes by car.

In the end, she had to rely on Law's help, god Quinn hated it. That she had to shed her pride made her not even paying any attention to the smooth car ride in his yellow sled, even though she had been wondering all the time how it was. With Judy in her arm, who was murmuring random things while poking her friend's boobs (Penguin next to her couldn't ignore that), Quinn stared from the backseat at the quiet driver.

He noticed her staring at the rear-view mirror and returned a brief look. "What's the staring?"

Quinn's eyes darted immediately away and she blushed a little. "N-nothing...!"

...

As they arrived, Law helped the sleepy drunken out, in fact, he had to carry her up into the apartment. Shachi and Penguin stayed in the car and said goodbye to Quinn. Upstairs in her room, Law put Judy on her bed.

"Law... sex?" she murmured, completely exhausted.

Quinn rolled her eyes and began to free her from her streetwear. "Judy, you stupid woman."

"Noo, why are you undressing me like that?!"

"It's okay Judy, I just change you into your nightwear."

"Uncool Quinn..."

"You need a hand?" Law asked as he saw some difficulties.

She threw the blanket over her after she peeled everything except for top and underwear off. "No, it's alright."

Judy seemed very tired, her sight got even herself tired. "Quinn... I love you."

"I love you too and now sleep." When she didn't hesitate to keep silence and sleep, Quinn got up and turned back to Law who then left the room to get to the entrance. "You're heading home, right?"

"I first have to set off the other two, but yeah."

"How far are you living?" She asked then.

"Not that far, from their place, it's 15 minutes."

"And their place is from here 20 minutes."

"Yeah." Law opened the door.

"Ah wait..." As much as she disliked it, Quinn had to express her gratitude. "Thank you for helping..."

"You're welcome."

She stared at the clock, which showed something very late after two. "I-if you want, you three can stay for tonight..."

"Huh?" He reacted surprised but amused. "You're not kicking me out?"

"We declared a truce, didn't we?" She said with a slightly grim face.

He smirked again. "We did. But we're still enemies or not?"

Quinn moved her eyes to the side. "Yes..."

With a small laugh, he stepped in front of the door. "Letting your enemies residing in your base. Dangerous."

"God, I just wanted to be nice...!"

He turned to her and leaned a hand against the doorway, a little down to her face, teasingly. "Even to a horny bastard like me?"

"Yeah... even to you..." she replied, unhappy. "You're not _that_ bad."

"You already said that once. Don't disappoint yourself again."

Quinn lowered her eyelids as this mocking, amused, stupid grin appeared on his face. "Don't worry, I'm vigilant."

"I save that offer in my head though, Peanut," said Law and straightened again, shoving both hands into his pockets.

"That was just for _now_...!" Her face turned pink. "Why are you calling me Peanut anyway?"

Why? Why not. He smiled a little before he left. "Good night, Miss Heady."

* * *

 _ **LexisRee -** I've sent you PM if you haven't seen it yet :)_


	21. How to act on a date

**21\. How to act on a date**

Judy was done for the day. She did remember she had promised her roommate to never get that drunk in her attendance again, and she did remember that she had had a third drink last night. What happened then was that she woke up with a terrible hangover in her bed like she hadn't had for months.

Getting into her plushy slippers, with effort to maintain her balance; Judy carried herself out of her room, already painful to look at. Her friend was lying on the couch, fully dressed, staring at her cell phone. As the two locked eyes, they tilted their heads over to the clock on the wall and back at each other.

Two in the afternoon.

"I've signed you off sick today," Quinn told her. "You were sleeping like a dinosaur."

"Do dinosaurs tend to sleep that long and tight?" Judy asked, touching her head in pain.

"No, but they are dead."

"Fuck, my head..." She walked over to the dining table and sat down, resting her face against her palms. "How many drinks did I have last night?"

"Guess."

"Just tell me..."

"Seven."

"Geez..." Judy looked shattered to the blonde. "I'm sorry Quinn, I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay," she replied. "You broke your promise and went over five, but I had fun last night."

Surprised, she raised a brow. "You did?"

Quinn looked wryly to the side. She liked that bar... "Yeah, somehow... it was stressful but fun."

"Even with Law?"

"Sorta..."

Judy eyed her face, seeing how uncomfortable her friend became. "You still despise him?"

"Sorta..."

"I see." Silence followed for a while, and the brunette tried to remember as much as she could from last night. The last thing she could recall was that Quinn hadn't liked it at all and that she squeezed her ass. Her memories were not completely gone, probably still there to 70% and- "Wait!" Those memories made her noticing something rather bad. "No... No... No no no!"

"What is?" Quinn asked confused.

"He saw me drunk?!" Judy shouted in shock.

"Yop."

" _How_ drunk?!"

Quinn tapped her finger against her cheek, thinking. "Weeell, you've been sitting on his lap, you stood on a bar table, you couldn't walk properly; pretty much that drunk."

"Oh gaaaawd..." Judy moaned out frustrated. "How fucking embarrassing."

"Well... and he carried you out of the bar and into your bed."

"What?! Please tell me, he was drunk too."

"What? No, he even took us home in his car. You were too drunk, you actually distracted me from the ride," Quinn told and sighed. "I guess that was my only chance to ever ride in such expensive, unaffordable, and fancy car... whatever." Her face became more pensive then. "If you would be rich, would you buy one like that? I've got the feeling, I don't know how to drive anymore, been way too long."

Judy was just staring at her, having no words for the situation and ignored her babbling automatically. In digest, she slowly shook her head, and still couldn't believe what had happened. "Was I the only drunk one?"

"Yeah." The others had been drinking beer, but not enough to get them slightly drunk. Thinking about it, Quinn's eyes drifted to the side. "Hm... I wonder how Trafalgar would be when he's drunk... maybe he'll be nicer, or maybe he'll get worse."

"Oh god Quinn, this is so freaking embarrassing, how should I live any further?" Judy moaned again.

"Weren't you the one who told me to show no embarrassment in order to be not embarrassed?"

The brunette narrowed her eyes. "Yeah but, this is... Law."

Thinking that her friend was just overreacting, Quinn moved her disinterested face back to her phone. "He's stoic to everything, he might not care."

"Did we have sex?"

"You wanted, but nope."

Judy stroked over her face and massaged her temples. "I can't believe he saw me drunk..."

"Well, that's one of the reasons why I don't drink," Quinn responded easily. As Judy said nothing, her eyes moved back to her and she looked at the somewhat depressive woman, who looked almost as bad as the day she had told her Law had dumped her in some kind of way. She still didn't get, why she was caring about his opinion anyway. "Can I ask you something?"

Judy looked at her, tired. "What?"

"What do you like about that guy?" Quinn had stated the fact, but she had never really questioned her friend's attraction to him.

And the brunette didn't like that sudden idea. "What's with that question?"

Quinn put her cellphone down on her belly, staring against the ceiling. "I mean, he's totally disinterested in anything you do, cold as ever, and still you-"

"Have you got a problem with that?" Judy asked, suddenly kind of displeased.

"Of course I do, but I told you before already," was Quinn's answer. She then pushed herself up and glanced at her friend in realization. "Wait, did you just admit?"

"Admit what?"

With both hands, Quinn touched her own cheeks in shock. "That you _do_ have a thing for that guy!"

"No?"

She grinned from ear to ear, looking like a happy child. "You diiiid!"

"Please spare me with this," Judy said and rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, just tell me, please! I just want to understand! Maybe you have your reasons! Or maybe you just have a weird taste."

"There's nothing to understand."

"Does it count as masochism when you like bad-boys? Like, actually, I dunno, you theoretically hurt your brain with it, but do like it when he's mean to you, right?"

Judy narrowed her brows. "I don't like it when he's mean to me...!"

"Yop, I think that's pretty much a sub-kind of masochism. Except! When he's bad but good only to you! But he's not really good to you, he's still rejecting any personal approach... Hm..."

Sighing, the brunette got up from the chair and ignored her friend's endless babbling.

As Quinn saw her leaving, she furrowed her brows desperately and panicked a little. "I-I will talk weird if you don't tell me!"

Her friend turned around, not getting what she meant. "You what?"

Quinn put on a posh face. "The question shall be, whether the feel is as dense as lead."

Judy's eyes formed to slits. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

" _This_ happens to be a question as well, we all ask such from time to time."

"Stop it."

"It is not like I _chose_ to compare myself to some mystery; it shall be your choice, Miss Volkova."

"What the fuck, Quinn. You're just talking nonsense."

The blonde closed her eyes and shook her head slowly. "This is what _you_ think, but the truth may be deeper. It could bore you into the action if you just do as I have been telling."

Judy took a deep breath and lifted both hands in height of her shoulders, turning around. "Okay, this is too stupid, I'm gonna get to the toilet."

"Your escape will not hold my tongue! Witness my mystery!" Quinn shouted after her.

"No."

"The yellow milk should be yours!"

"Okay, Quinn, this is fucking annoying and gross," Judy said and turned back, resting both hands on her hips. "Law is, I don't know, I like his kind."

Quinn's eyes grew big in excitement. "Ohh! I just found a new method for making you talk! Do you think it works with others too? Actually, it must, even I find it annoying myself..."

"You-"

"Yeah, I just gonna try it on other people. Ahh no, wait! If I wanna test it, they need to have something I want."

"Law is-"

"Well, it doesn't have to be information actually. Maybe I just want them to apologize?"

Judy rolled her eyes again, hitting her hands up in the air and left. "Oh, I just shut up, it's okay!"

"No, wait, Judy!" Quinn said, trying to cease her little laugh. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your honest thoughts."

"Bye."

"No! Waaaait! Sooo, you like his kind and what?"

Turning around again with another sigh, she leaned against the dining table. "I like strong men; not only physically, also mentally."

Quinn's eyes lowered to skepticism. "And what makes _him_ mentally strong...?"

She shrugged her shoulders and looked a little helpless through the room. "I dunno, he appears quite smart, I like how he's not playing by other people's rules."

"Well, I think, he sometimes should do..." The blonde mumbled to the side.

"He's setting the rules, he's the dominating one."

Then she looked back to Judy with the same unconvinced look in her eyes. "You're sure you don't talk about sex?"

Unamused, the brunette answered dryly, "yes."

Quinn raised her brows and looked quite sarcastic away. "Weeeell, I think he got lots of issues." Mentally strong... when she thought about Dr. Dillan's words that he had no parents anymore etc., she wasn't sure if he was that strong since he became such a psycho.

Judy folded her arms and kept her eyes away from her friend. "I won't discuss with you about his personality again."

Her friend sank her mouth corners. "But-but-but, I just mean well..."

"He's not a bad guy. He's just honest and carries some pride."

"Yeah... he's maybe not _that_ bad," Quinn said in defeat, her gaze shifted uncomfortably to the side. "An arrogant weirdo though."

The brunette looked at the girl, studying her expression. Though she tried to make Law looking not bad as a person, and though Quinn kept telling how she couldn't stand him, it concerned her that her friend was still bothering his existence. If she hated him so much, she was supposed to ignore him, but instead, she chose to talk about him so often (at least when Judy brought the topic up since Quinn actually didn't). Why had she even accepted a drink from him? "Enough about Law, did Sabo text you?"

Quinn darted her eyes back to the brunette, and a wide shy smile washed over her face.

"Quinn?" Judy repeated with a saucy smirk as she understood her behavior right away. She eyed her from head to toe. "Your outfit looks cute today by the way."

"You think so?" Quinn said, her eyes sparkling somewhat in happiness.

Judy wriggled her brows. "You do not happen to go on a date _today_?"

"Yes yes yes!" Quinn straightened and squealed a little in nervosity, acting like she had been waiting for her friend to ask. "He texted me this morning, and and and I was unsure first, but, I dunno, I almost said no for today, maybe you need my help, and yeah, but, y-you're strong and can take of yourself, and, naaaw, I had to so yes! Should I have said no?! If-if I should stay at home, just tell me...! I still can cancel...!"

"No no, just go and enjoy your day. I'm totally fine."

"You're sure?!" She bit her tongue and looked at her, uncertain.

"I've got water and a bucket. That'll be enough."

"Meeeeh... Maybe I'm just too nervous, Juuudy..." Quinn leaned the side of her head against the couch, pretty sluggish in posture. "I didn't go on a date with someone since years."

"Just be yourself, nothing to worry," her friend told, acting quite casual. She walked over to the kitchen area to fill a glass of water.

"You're right! Just be myself!" Confidentially, Quinn sat up straight and imagined how everything would go right. But the longer she thought about it, the more she was painting bad scenarios in her head. "Oh no, what if I get my period today?" She looked panicky to her friend. "What if I'll die of period cramps?!"

Half-lidded, Judy responded, "geez, you're exaggerating girl."

Quinn inhaled deeply and tried to calm down. "Ok, ok, its just a meet up between two people who find each other sympathetic. Nothing to get a fuzz about. Just two human-beings and you're one of them. You, and a guy."

Quirking her brow with a teasing smile, Judy said, "you do have a huge crush on him, don't you?"

She blushed a little and sank back to the couch. "This is like being a teenager again..."

"Except that you're 23, got a job, a stable income, and your hormones are in the right order. Whereby, teenagers these days are even more experienced than you."

"Don't make me more nervous aaahhh, Judy...! What if he thinks I'm too childish?"

"Maybe that's what he likes on you. The cheerful and bubbly type of girl."

Yeah, maybe he did. Why else should he ask her out, since he only knew her usual way? Quinn stood up with new motivation after Judy encouraged her. "You're right! I'm gonna slay this shit!"

* * *

Law actually had a day off, but like on so many other days, his work called him to jump in for this time as well. He was tired. Despite that he had gotten home yesterday around four in the morning, he still had his usual six-hours sleep. His body was perhaps adjusted to that rhythm so that he couldn't sleep longer, even when he wanted to. However, even he was tired, Law didn't regret last night.

The weather was nice as always; actually pretty warm that women started to reveal more skin already, even summer was still far ahead. Over two months were left until summer, over two months until Penguin and Shachi wouldn't stop gawk at women's bodies.

As Law walked with a light yawn into the hospital, passing the halls of the waiting patients, his eyes caught sight with some blonde head he knew too well. Quinn sat with her back to him on one of the double-sided benches. It surprised him extremely to see her in the hospital, so he walked over to her, approaching her from behind. "Peanut, here for an appointment?" Law said, bending a little down to look over her shoulder. "How to act on a date..."

Quinn turned her phone display off immediately and tilted embarrassed around, looking from left to right to check if anyone had heard that. She looked to Law, who crouched on the seat right behind her, staring with lazy eyes at the girl. "Gooosh, don't say that too loud...! And why are you startling me like that?!"

Law raised a brow to her overreaction. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting," Quinn replied.

He sat down properly and tilted his body a little, resting one arm on the backrest that parted them. "To get called in?"

"No..." She said somewhat miffed. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you do your doctor stuff?"

"I just came in, still got plenty of times before my shift starts."

Her lids lowered and she folded both arms on the wide elevation between them as well. "And what are you doing _here_?"

Law smirked a bit. "Is it also wrong now to say 'hello' to someone you know?"

Looking a little grumpy into his face, she endured her defeat. "No..."

He liked the pink on her face and smiled slyly. "Well then, hello, Miss Heady."

"Hello, Doc."

Law noticed soon that her outfit for today was different to usual. She wore a gray sweater with a black skirt, red socks, and sneakers. He never saw her in a _skirt_ , and then it was way shorter than he had expected. Maybe he should stop expecting anything from that blonde. However, googling about dates, dressing cute, sitting without an appointment around... "You're waiting for someone."

She laid her chin on her forearms. "You're pretty curious."

Law sighed and straightened back, rubbing his neck. "I'm sorry for asking. Seems like I can't do anything right."

"Ahh n-no...! That's not what I mean...! Y-you do good, small-talking is the first step of being polite, really! It's just, uuhh... You're not doing wrong...!"

"Tell Peanut..." He looked back at her. "You like giving advice, right?"

"I'm a teacher! Of course, I do!"

He leaned down again, smirking mockingly into her face. "And you also like googling them."

Quinn blushed embarrassed but tried to keep a serious face. "Please forget what you've seen."

The young man chuckled slightly. "I haven't expected you to be so confidenceless to actually _google_ how to behave on a date."

"Psssht!" She said, placing her finger in front of her mouth. "I-I haven't dated a guy in three years, and he'll be the second guy I've ever met...! I don't know how to act...! What is when I embarrassed myself? When I do something stupid, saying something totally inappro- what the hell, why am I telling you anyway?!"

"I don't know," he replied and shrugged lazily his shoulders. "Expecting any advice from the male gender?"

"I surely won't ask a guy with zero social skills for advice."

"Then not." He moved his head swiftly around and then back to her. "Where's this guy you're dating?"

"Not in your interest," Quinn stated straight and displeased. She felt awkward to even talk with _him_ about that.

Law leaned back again, rolling his eyes a bit. "I give up, I do anything wrong anyway."

"Nooo wait...! Don't give up...!" She responded and backed off from the backrest as well, furrowing her brows.

It amused him to tease her that way; in the end, she just acted mad at him, surely because she was just stubborn; her 'hate' was not even worth to be worded like that. And her mood shifted so fast, it felt like having her quite under control. Having her... under control...

Quinn pouted her lips a little. "Can I tell you a joke?"

"You ask for permission?" Law replied, raising a brow.

"What's the difference between me and a calendar?"

He already saw what was coming.

"The calendar never fails a date," said she then and added a sarcastic and confidenceless "te-he."

"That was the worst joke you've ever told."

"I'm sorry... You wanna hear another?"

"No."

She grinned. "Yesterday I went to the corner shop. I bought four corners."

Law watched how she was holding back her laugh, geez how could someone find their own jokes funny? But well, it seemed to loosen her a little from her nervosity; if that's what helped her... It's been a while anyway that he had heard her telling some as she had been pretty mad at him recently.

"You wanna hear another?" Quinn asked again, and her smile was just too impatient to tell one.

Law listened to her while his face turned to boredom. "Go on.'

"Ahh wait..." Quinn's eyes drifted away, and she started pondering. "A joke... a joke... Crap, I run out of jokes."

"So, you ask me if I wanna hear one, without any in your repertory?"

"I actually always have one ready...," she claimed. "Give me a topic and I tell you one!"

"Animals."

"Ouh c'mon, be more specific."

"Insects."

"Naaah, insect jokes bug me."

"Bea-" Law paused.

She grinned widely at him, waiting for a reaction. As she saw his little smirk, she said, "that was good right? That was gooood, yeah yeah yeah."

No, thinking about it, he also found that one unfunny. He smirked rather because he couldn't believe she had gotten him with that silly pun.

"Ah Quinn, you're already here?" Sabo had stepped out into the halls, spotting the young woman. He looked over to Law, who had tilted his had at the guy and seemed to be her company.

"Sabo!" Quinn said and got up. As she noticed his stare at Law, she tried to introduce him. "Uhhh Sabo, this is Trafalgar, ...Law, ...Doctor, ...a guy I know!"

The two guys nodded at each other but exchanged no word.

"Shall we go?" Sabo asked, smiling.

"Yes...!" Quinn said and walked around the bench, leaving the spot with him. She waved at Law before her attention drew completely back to her date. "Have a nice day, Dr. Bread!"

Law remained silent and just watched after them until their sight and voices disappeared. The only thing his ears could filter was how the guy asked "bread?", and that she explained to him that he didn't like bread. In fact, he hated it, somehow.

His eyes wandered into space.

So... Quinn Heady had a date, huh?

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Okay, I think I gonna turn this into a OC/Sabo fic._

 _Quinn: April fools!_

 _No, but seriously, I'm unsure how much in detail I should go with her interaction with Sabo, since this is a Law/OC fic, lol. Would you like to read more or rather less? (I was uncertain between Ace and Sabo first, since Ace's way more popular, but the character I needed for the story fit Sabo better.)_

 _ **Tori Ki** \- Glad you liked the previous chapter and drunken Judy :) Yeah, I enjoy writing characters' relationship rather slow. I wouldn't say it's unrealistic to fall in love in a short time, but I think having a romance with someone normally unapproachable, it has to be slow haha._

 _ **Erin** \- Thank you! I appreciate that!_

 _ **Zerom1v** \- I expected anything but scary hahaha_

 _Thanks for reading and reviews!_


	22. Oreo Cookie

**22\. Oreo Cookie**

Pager. He had been hearing its beeping way too often, it felt like traveling back to the 90's. After they had called him to the hospital on his free day, Law was given another day off in his schedule. The night before though, he practically had to sleep in the hospital, since they had contacted him for an emergency operation, and within three hours another couple of time for every single issue. A dozen times.

It was around 1.30PM as Law left the hospital again, exhausted like he hadn't been for long. He drank far too little over the night and felt pretty bad for the day. Buying a water bottle from the supermarket then, Law sat down on a bench nearby. Some fresh air would be good after those long hours inside, smelling the scent of his workplace. He definitely had to head home later and take a nap before he would return to work around five. There was not much space to relax in between his current schedule.

Sitting quiet and alone for a bit, Law heard slow steps behind him. He turned around and Quinn's face smiled at him awkwardly as she stood only two meters far. "Oh maaan, this is not fair," she complained and got over to the guy, leaning from behind against the bench.

Law looked at her, reactionless. "What's that supposed to be?"

"I thought I sneak up to you because you're always doing that too..." Quinn responded. "You seriously could be a ninja... " When she thought about his glibness and how manipulating he actually could be towards women, she also mumbled, "an assassin..."

"Maybe you're too inattentive."

"Maybe you should stop blaming me for everything. What are you doing here anyway besides sitting around lonely, being sinister?" Law was unamused about her comment, shown on his face as he said nothing. She half-lidded her eyes to his unfriendly expression. "God, you look like someone fed you with bread."

"You're not at work?"

Quinn shook her head. "Nope, school's over already. I was just in the city, buying new stickers." Her eyes looked briefly to the direction she came from and then back to the guy. "I also actually saw you here already five minutes ago, but I wasn't sure first if I should talk to you."

Law raised a brow. "And what made your decision?"

"Well, saying 'hello' to someone you know is a polite gesture, right?" She responded with a smile; somewhat sarcastic, somewhat sincere. "But you looked scary, so I was unsure, I'm scared of scary."

He was surprised though that she had done so. "Well, you could've just ignored me then."

"I told you, po-lite-ness," Quinn repeated and eyed his face a little. "The shadows under your eyes are worse than usual, do you know how you look?"

Of course, he knew, it was the typical answer, and he had heard it three times today. Yes, he did look like a zombie.

"Like you've slept with mascara on."

Well, she was untypical anyway.

As Law turned his head back ahead and remained silent, Quinn leaned a little over the bench to have a better look at him. She knew that he often kept a flat expression, but today he looked even flatter than Shachi and Penguin's flat-screen TV. "Are you in a bad mood?"

He sighed and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger, stroking his hand down his face. "I'm just tired."

"I think you should sleep more," Quinn responded, still looking at him from his side.

Law tilted his head over to her, unimpressed by her statement. "Well concluded, Peanut, I already thought that far too."

His answer didn't amuse her either, so she arched her lips. "I'm just saying... Maybe it's an alien concept to you... You know yourself you're kinda special."

Special... that sound way too much like a compliment, she should word it differently.

"Alien concept sounds cute... Do you know what also sounds cute? Pillow. You use a pillow to sleep."

Again, another random thought of hers that he didn't want to comment on. But she seemed to be in a good mood, thus her date on Wednesday (two days ago) appeared like to had been a success. Should he ask? Small...Talk...? Better not, why anyway.

"I'm soooorry, that was just a random thooought, don't be maaaad."

He smiled swiftly, though his eyes were as good as untouched by it. "If you think something so stupid makes me mad."

"This isn't stupid; it's a normal every day-, night, fact. How can a fact be stupid?" She saw him still in his dull facade and didn't like it. The weather was nice, it was almost weekend, no one should pull such a face on a day like that one. Whereby, doctors didn't have weekends, right? "I'm sorry... Uhm, when _I'm_ tired, I tell jokes! It makes me laugh, and laughing gets me more awake!"

"Is that an appeal?"

"A suggestion."

"I know no jokes."

"Everyone at least knows one," Quinn claimed, holding three fingers out, next to his view, and then pulled down one by one until zero as she counted three seconds down in her head. "Gooo!"

"Miss Heady, I'm not in the mood for that," he responded tiredly.

She saw he was way more serious with his tiredness than she had thought so that she slowed down with her energy. "I'm sorry... I thought because you're in a bad mood, and I dunno, you need a push and laugh, and, well, you surely don't wanna hear one from me and... meh... I'm sorry."

Covering head and eyes in his palm as he rested his head in his hand, Law sighed out more audibly. "Miss Heady..."

Now she felt bad and furrowed her brows a little. "Should I better leave you alone?"

Law side-glanced her. "What do you expect me to answer? Yes, please go away or please stay?" They were sure not that close that she could expect an honest answer. Whereby... he was honest anyway.

Quinn raised a brow over her lowered lids. "From you," said she and started imitating him, " _I don't care, do whatever you want_."

"Well then, please go away."

She was used to his bluntness, but for this time she didn't like it because she had the feeling she was the annoying one and deserved it. "I'm sorry for having bothered you..." She straightened and decided to leave. "Have a nice day."

"You too," Law replied and didn't bother a look as she left. It was not like he didn't understand her good intentions, but for today her bubbliness was way too much for his nerves, he just wanted silence. Hanging around with him right then was a bad choice for her anyway since he didn't want to break her good mood that probably came from her successful date. Else she would blame him again and call him an arrogant jerk.

Law leaned back and stared against the blue sky.

It had been her first time approaching him on her own without any 'host-manner' intentions though. She wouldn't have been able to blame him anyway if she had chosen to stay by herself.

A shrill sound came from his back and he pulled out the pager. That's it with his free day. Law sighed and mumbled, "there it comes, the work."

* * *

 _"University for arts and design here. Miss Heady, we wanna inform you that we received your portfolio and that we're inviting you to our qualification test. The test will be on the 3rd June; you'll receive a letter with further information the fellow days, please call back soon for a confirmation or cancel."_

* * *

After she had received an answer from her letter back then, Quinn was allowed to send in a portfolio with some work she had done. Even Law was a dark cookie today (she didn't like those), the phone call from the university she applied for had made her turn somersaults, literally that she even had broken a bowl. All-in-all, those days had been good so that a guy she didn't really care about should be matterless anyway.

However, she had called back immediately after she listened to the message and confirmed her accession to the qualification test. It's been so long that she had left this town, despite that she hadn't been even born here but in the big city. And even it would be just for the qualification test, she was looking forward to it like a child, and kept her motivation up as she was painting the whole day until the night.

It was around ten as she heard the keys turning, and she jumped out of her room to greet her friend. "Juuudy, he- is something?"

"Hey," the brunette said and got inside.

Seeing her face, pulled with exhaustion and negativity, Quinn said, "you look annoyed..."

"Yeah," Judy replied halfhearted and walked straight into her room, putting down her bag.

Quinn followed her. "What happened?"

"Just some stress at work, it's fine," she told and loosened her bun. "Ah, I haven't been able talking to you yet, how did your date go?"

"Yeaah, you've been shifting extra hours way too loooong," the blonde said and hugged her friend tightly in a playful way. Since yesterday morning, she hadn't seen her friend once, as Judy had returned home when she had been already asleep but had been sleeping in the morning when Quinn left.

Judy, however, didn't play along with her sweetness and wanted to go straight to the subject, "yeah yeah, tell me about your date."

Quinn backed off and became somewhat shy about the topic, smiling with no eye contact. "My date..."

"Don't tell me he's a disgusting pervert, too."

Her attitude changed soon though. "Eh? Your guy's one."

"Law's a pervert, but not disgusting."

"Disgusting in attitude maybe?"

And Judy's attitude made a small flip as well, her eyes turned annoyed to the ceiling. "Now he's the bad guy again? Geez, can you just decide finally?"

"I'm sorry, I just mean, he's not bad, just his attitude towards women."

She rolled her eyes and walked out of the room while the blonde followed her. "Why are you caring anyway?"

Quinn's stopped and smiled sarcastically. "Uh, because you're important to me and I don't want him to hurt you?"

Her friend turned to her and looked into her face. She seemed quite annoyed and paused for a moment, but then ran her hand through her hair as she noticed her behavior. "I'm sorry Quinn, I... I'm just tired." She walked over to the fridge and took out a water bottle, mumbling somewhat, "you're right."

Quinn thought she had the perfect mood-booster for her. "Ohh Trafalgar was tired too, what a coincidence again! I saw him today."

Judy filled her glass, sounding not that surprised, if not even a bit sarcastic. "Oh, you did?"

"Yeah, I was just in the city after work and he was there, and yooo, he looked super exhausted," the blonde told casually. "God, you two got coincidences."

"And you two just randomly talked?"

She nodded. "Yop, I thought I would say hello, but he wasn't in the mood to talk, so I left."

"How was your date with Sabo?"

Quinn suddenly felt some shyness again, but she tried to keep it cool with a nonchalant, "uhh, great, great."

Judy turned around and leaned against the kitchen counter, raising lightly a brow. "Only?"

Trying to hold back her excitement, Quinn bit her tongue with a grin before she exploded. "He's amazing!"

Her euphoria brought back a slight smile on the brunette's lips. "Ooh, tell me everything girl."

"Did you know that he has a pretty high rank at work? And Luffy, his brother; his father's the head of this organization! This is so awesome!"

"Sounds cool."

"Yeah and-and, woah, I dunno, this family's full of heroes gosh! I told you when Luffy had been on holidays, that reckless boy followed some bad guys to their secret hideout and convinced someone to call the police! I'm SO glad he was ok, but it looked like those people had some dark plans and he happened to screw them! Somehow funny, and he's not even bragging!"

"Yeah, kids are... surprising sometimes."

"Yeah, who thought that a little brat can be such pain in the ass," Quinn said amused. "Uhh anyway, yeah, he's staying in town for quite a while now, so everything's cool."

"Did he just talk about himself or what?"

"What? Nooo! I actually asked a lot. But I avoid family questions! I read that shouldn't be so good since some people could've bad relationships with their family or past. We went to my favorite cafe, aaand uhm, he has good taste! He likes everything I like!"

A date sounded kind of fun. Judy had never been on a 'real' date, it was always for shallow purposes, but there was no guy in her interest anyway. "Maybe he just likes everything in the cafe?"

"Yeah... could be. He's reaaaaally cute and always smiling! His brothers are important to him, and you can have good conversations with him about social, political, uhh environmental and economic issues! He's such a lovely guy. Not pervert at all, genuinely listens to you, a little dorky."

"Did you kiss?" Judy wanted to know, drinking her water relaxed.

"What? Noooo!" Quinn blushed and looked shyly away, feeling the steam leaving her head. "That was just our first date..."

Smirking teasingly then, Judy asked, "oh, so there'll be more?"

Quinn smiled a little and pushed her fingertips together. "Yes... Tehe. Tomorrow weekend starts and tehe..."

"Oh Quinn, you're so cute when you're in love," her friend responded with a small laugh. It's been a while, and then her first relationship had to be extremely disappointing and very short. Judy knew Quinn was the type of girl to do everything for her lover, it even broke _her_ heart as that bastard of an ex, ripped Quinn's trust into pieces.

Anyway, the blonde felt like being made fun of again. "I'm not in love...!"

But her embarrassed reactions were the best, who did not want to tease her a little... "I hope he'll be the right. True love story shit and so on, what you always wanted."

Her mouth corners sunk and stared sort of miffed at Judy. "When you consider it as shit it sounds shit..."

"I'm sorry," Judy said, the mocking grin increasing on her lips.

"Naah, I did like his vibe from the very start, let's see where it goes. I mean, Trafalgar's impression changed a tiny bit, too, so maybe Sabo has some weird and abnormal fetishes."

"You're funny."

Unconvinced about her words and somewhat afraid, Quinn stated with fainting voice, "when you say I'm funny, it's never meant like I want..."

Judy walked over to the sink and washed her empty glass. "You say you can't stand him yet you can talk to him so freely."

"That's because I'm nice," Quinn replied, but she didn't like her own words somehow and gritted her teeth a little, looking to the side. "Oh man, I just called myself nice again, this is so weird..."

"Maybe you shouldn't be nice," said Judy. She didn't even really focused on her activity and just keep washing the glass, even it was already clean enough.

Surprised and confused, the blonde looked at her friend. "Huuuh? You said I should be nice to him. Or not mean..."

Judy turned the sink off and began to dry the item. "But you shouldn't fake anything."

"I don't fake anything! My reactions are as real as your boobs," Quinn then stated kind of displeased. "I mean... He even made me calling him names, and the only person I actually curse at is you, because you know I'm not serious about it." Judy was just polishing the glass in her hand, saying nothing, but her aura was not in Quinn's like. "Are you mad at me?"

Judy furrowed her brows and gasped somewhat annoyed. "No..."

"You are," was the blonde's answer though about her obvious mood. She had no clue why though but wanted to understand. "Have I done anything wrong? Just tell me."

She put the glass away. "No Quinn, it's-, I had a stressful day okay? I'm just tired. I'm sorry."

Different to her somewhat snappy friend, Quinn asked with her tone rather soft, "can I do something for you...?"

"No, no... It's fine... I-, I just take a bath and head to bed. But thank you." Judy began to walk into her room.

Quinn's uncertain eyes followed her. "Okay... But when you need something, just tell me."

"Yeah yeah, I do, thank you."

As much as she was excited to find parallels between her and Law, only to ship them in some kind of way (she just couldn't decide), that Judy also had to be tired and in a bad mood made Quinn rather less excited. She was another dark cookie. Basically, Quinn felt like the white cream in between, and it got nothing to do with their hair colors. Today she thought they were making an Oreo cookie together. She didn't like those but only the cream.

Back in her room, Quinn lay down and stared against her cellphone, running through her contact list. She would love to have someone beside Judy, who she could turn to when things with her best friend didn't really work out as it should. Tomorrow she would meet up with Sabo again, but she didn't want to whimper about her little problems when they do. But he would be a good distraction, maybe she should catch up with Penguin and Shachi as well to return the jacket and pick up her umbrella.

Quinn actually didn't need anyone to talk, Judy would be fine again by tomorrow after she had enough rest; and Law? This guy shouldn't affect her mood in any way, he's always insolent and tired. Not everyone could be happy 24/7, puking rainbows, she was aware of that. Quinn tried to see the good within that day like her invitation from the university, but the longer she thought about it, the more she felt bad for being good-mooded when others were not. And thereby she knew there was nothing to feel bad about, especially in case of those two gleeful idiots.

 _I don't like Oreo..._

* * *

 _ **A/N:** So, I decided to show Quinn's interaction with Sabo in an amount that is necessary for the plot, so basically like I do it the whole time lol. Thanks for your feedback!_

 _ ** **Guest** -** Don't worry! This is and stays a Law/OC fic._

 _ **Aiko** \- You're reading my thoughts :)_

 _ **Apple Bloom** \- You may be right haha_

 _ **Sarge1130** \- C'mon, who does not like Law better hehe._

 _ **Mei** \- omg, I absolutely love reading your reviews, you actually made  my day and grinning like an idiot in public, because they were so funny XD Remember: Authors love long reviews loool. Thank you so much~ I hope you'll get well soon :D!_

 _ **zerom1v** \- your comment is so random hahaha_


	23. Sleeping beauty

**23\. Sleeping beauty**

"You look concerned, is something?"

Quinn had said he would be a good distraction, but somehow she couldn't stop thinking about Judy's mood from yesterday. She looked at Sabo who sat on the table in front of her, having the straw of his smoothie in his mouth. Staring at this cute image, she already felt annoyed by herself for being partly absent with her mind. She smiled a little and said, "me concerned? Don't I always look like that?"

"Quite the contrary."

Well, whom was she kidding? "Ah I'm sorry, yesterday was a little off and yeah... My head's still sticking to that, I'm sorry." She took a deep breath as she saw his wordless stare. "I-I'll be in good mood again! Right away! Don't worry! ...See me smiling?!"

Her teeth-showing smile was awkwardly scary, but Sabo smiled back. "Quinn, it's okay not to have a devil-may-care attitude all the time."

"Meeeh, I feel bad acting like that when we're meeting," she said somewhat depressive and sucked weakly from her straw.

"If it helps, you can tell me what bothers you. You don't have to, I'm just offering."

Quinn furrowed her brows. "Don't I annoy with my problems then?"

"You're not annoying me at all," Sabo answered with a cheerful smile, and the longer she glared at it, the more she turned pink on her cheeks. "Why are you blushing again?"

Her head fell on the table with her forehead rolling repeatedly from right to left. Right, why again. "You make me feel awkward..."

"Awkward? This can be positive and negative."

"If it would be negative, I wouldn't be here."

Sabo leaned back and scratched his cheek a little in uncertainty while his eyes drifted away. "Ah, I don't know, I'm also asking because it could be me that concerns you..."

"What nooo! Not the slightest! You're top how you are!" Quinn replied right away as she pushed her head back up. But her cheeks increased in color as she repeated her own words in her head. "Ahhh noo! I mean, you're doing everything right! Uhh, not that you're not top, you're totally top! Top of the tops! Nooo! This shouldn't sound like I'm crawling but, ahh, this sounds awkward, right?"

"Quinn, _you_ ' _re_ awkward," he replied casually and chuckled.

She hung her head depressively. "I'm sorry..."

Sabo laughed a little. "I think it's funny, stay like that."

"So... you're laughing about me?" She asked and moved her head slowly up to look at him again.

"No, you're amusing me. I like that."

"So... This is something... good?"

 _Lol._ Relaxed, with his straw at the corner of his mouth, he said, "I told you, you're awkward."

Quinn sighed. "Please don't think I'm always like that..."

"I've stopped counting how often you asked since you _are_."

With half-lidded eyes, she looked back at him. "Thank you."

Sabo leaned forward again, folding his arms over the table while the smoothie remained in his hand. "Why are you so confidenceless about yourself anyway?"

"I'm not confidenceless...!" Quinn claimed, straightened back immediately. "I just don't-, weeeell, I..." She rubbed her neck and tried to look at him as she confessed, "I don't want anyone to think I'm a bubble-headed blonde..."

It took some seconds of silence as Sabo digested her words before he bursted out in laughter. "I'm the last guy who stereotypes _blondes_."

"But for men it's diff- hey, stop laughing about me...!"

Slowly, he tried to cease his laugh and was left with some giggles. "Believe me, if you're stupid, I wouldn't be here."

Quinn half-lidded her eyes again. "Eh? Did you just say, you avoid dating people with a 'lower intellect'?"

His smile vanished. "What? No...! This is not what I meant!"

"But you said you else wouldn't be-, oh my, don't tell me you're-, Sabo, you're disappointing me."

"What? I-I didn't mean so, it was just a way to tell you, you're not stupid," he claimed..

Quinn just nodded while you heard the sarcasm in her voice. "Uh huh."

"Really!"

Then she smiled, back to innocence, and took out a lunch box. "Oh okay, want some Onigiris?"

Sabo stared at her with small eyes, digesting the situation in silence once more. "Did you just mess with me?"

"A bit," she replied.

"How lame."

"Heeey, you can't call it lame when you fell for it!"

He leaned back and drank his smoothie. "But it was."

"Nooo!"

"You can't convince a person that your joke was not lame; _that's_ actually really lame."

Quinn blushed and furrowed her brows, looking down in shame. "... I'm sorry." How embarrassing, but he was right. Maybe she should slow down with- "...huh?"

Sabo giggled, covering his mouth somewhat as he held his laugh.

"What the..."

He leaned back forward and smiled brightly into her face. "I was just messing with you."

She loved that smile, she loved smiling people, she loved making people smile. He managed to make her blush again, in embarrassment and happiness to the same. "Let's say 1:1 then."

* * *

Saturday evening. The sun was still shining, the days became longer again. It was almost May and for Law unbelievable how fast this year was passing. After work, his companions had asked him to get over again, but he was unsure if he shouldn't just head home and sleep. But it wasn't guaranteed that his sleep would be long enough, since those days they were calling him way too often back to the hospital. Last month was definitely more relaxing, but well, it was his job. Though eventually, Law did decide to pay his companions a visit, they lived closer to the hospital anyway.

"Oi Cap! Good to see you!" Shachi greeted.

Law stepped into the apartment, which looked surprisingly cleaner than usual (or clean at all). "Where's Penguin?"

"Still at work," Shachi told and closed the door, sitting back on the carpet. "How are you? I just bought pizza, you want some?" He opened a freshly delivered pizza box in front of him. Law hadn't eaten yet so he took the offer casually. "You look tired."

"Yeah, I am. I've been working too much these days," he replied.

"Maybe you should take holidays? You got 28 days annual too, right?"

Right, holidays. Almost five months were over and he hadn't planned to use one of them on any day of this year yet. "I don't wanna waste them. You never know when you need them."

"Last year you've said the same and wasted them all by not using them," Shachi responded. "We could've gone to the beach in summer."

Unexcited from everything, he answered dryly, "you could've gone without me."

"But without you, it's not the same! You're so lazy to laze around somewhere else than home," the redhead nagged. "Did you by the way just come from work?"

"Yeah," Law replied and leaned tiredly against the bed. "But I think I won't stay long. I need to sleep a little."

"Nooo, don't go! Pen and I wanted to watch a movie! We've been waiting so long, and there's finally a good stream! This took one year!"

"Or you could've just gone to the cinema."

"But how should we know before, if it's worth the money?"

Why had he the feel, this silly answer could have come from that blonde? He lay his head back and sighed. "No, I think I head home later."

"Oh come on Law, you can nap here a little! We even have cleaned up as you can see!"

Law wondered if that was only because she had announced her visit someday to pick up her umbrella. "No."

"You're the Captain! Watching a movie with three is much more fun! It's some sci-fi horror!"

He slowly looked back at the guy. "I said, stop calling me like that."

Shachi got over to his notebook with an ignorant smile. "Let me show you the trailer!"

"Oi Shachi, I said no."

...

An hour passed since Law had fallen asleep on Shachi's bed while the redhead was playing video games. Law laid on his back with his hands behind his head, hearing the bubble sounds of water from the game his companion was playing. He couldn't believe that he, in the end, had stayed, but he was too lazy now to get up and kept his eyes close, trying to continue his rest.

Half an hour later, the door had rung and Shachi got up to check who it was. "Quinn!"

"Hi," the blonde said with a joyful smile.

He was surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought I come and return your jacket," she responded and lifted the item she had borrowed.

"Oh right! Uhh if you want, come in!" He stepped aside and showed her the way in, relieved that they had decided to clean up before.

As Quinn entered, her eyes noticed Law on the bunk bed right away. Casually and comfortable looking, he was lying there with his eyes closed, doing nothing. Wow, he was not the last person she had expected to see here, but still, it was surprising and awkward to the same. Her finger pointed down at him and she tilted her face to the redhead. "Is he really sleeping?"

Shachi took the jacket, putting it away. "Ah yeah, he was really tired when he came."

Right, he had said that yesterday. She tried to not care about his presence. "Where's Penguin?"

"Still at work, he must be home in an hour or two."

"I've made Onigiris today, I have exactly three left," said she then and pulled out her lunch box with rice balls, each wrapped in clingfilm. "You can have one."

"What? Really?!" Shachi responded, excited. "This doesn't happen to be leftovers from your lunch?"

She smiled wryly at his question. "No, I met Sabo today, so yeah... Prepared some and thought I left some for you..."

"Oh really? That's so nice of you!" He said with pink cheeks, happy like a child. "Wasn't that the guy you're dating?"

Quinn became shy on a switch and her eyes moved to the side. "Yeah... tehe." Why had he to asked so explicit? Yes, the guy she was dating... God, how silly she was reacting again, she felt a little embarrassed.

Shachi just stared blankly at her. "What a lucky guy."

"What are you saying," Quinn replied, not understanding what he actually meant. "I brought each of you one as well!"

He didn't want to explain that further though since it was rather an accident anyway that he had spoken that out. So the redhead looked at the pieces. "What's inside?"

"Uhh, those two are with Tuna-mayo, and this with Umeboshi."

"Oh, mine and Pen's fave's tuna!" Shachi stated and grabbed one. "Thank you!"

She smiled at his joy. As she looked at the third one, her eyes moved over to Law and then back to the Onigiri. "Hm... I actually wanted to eat it myself," she said, unsure. "But I'll feel bad when he's the only one without, but I didn't know he would be here too..."

"I would say he won't care."

He probably really wouldn't, that much of his character she knew. When her eyes shifted back to Law though, she looked a little grimly and was still unsure what to do. "I think... I'll leave that one for him anyway, modesty etc."

"You still can eat it if he doesn't want to," Shachi said, but noticed her still pensive expression then. "What is?"

"But Trafalgar doesn't like Umeboshi."

"Oh." Shachi hadn't thought about it himself. He looked at his own riceball and then over to the other Tuna-mayo that was actually reserved for his other friend. "Just trade it with the other tuna, Penguin eats everything," he claimed with a smile. Better his' than his own hehe (Penguin wouldn't know anyway).

"Oh, well then." Quinn took it and knelt down next to Law. She was surprised to see him so... vulnerable. A sleeping Law was definitely different from an awake Law, and she preferred the first one. Eyeing him a little, Quinn narrowed her brows. She still didn't understand how mother earth could make a jerk like him so handsome. _What a waste_ , she thought and put the Onigiri on his forehead. "Wow, I didn't know he can be such a sleeping beauty. Sometimes I forget he's human too." She turned back around.

Shachi laughed a little. "I, too, rarely see him really sleeping. Most of the time he's just resting his eyes."

Hearing that, Quinn squinted hers and turned back to the guy, looking at him skeptically. "So... you mean, if he would be funny, he would wake up scaring me?"

"Right."

"Thank god he's not funny. Otherwise, I would cry."

"Ah be careful, maybe he hears you," Shachi warned with another amused laugh.

Quinn eyed him even more in skepticism. "You think he's awake?"

"Uhh, I dunno, for this time he really seemed exhausted. Too many work hours." Staying on the spot, Shachi saw her stretching out her index finger and reached closer to Law's face. "What are you doing?"

She looked over her shoulder to the redhead. "I wanna poke him, but I'm scared."

He didn't take it that seriously and just kept his small laugh. "Quinn, just don't."

She softly blew into his ear.

"Quinn, what are you doing...?!"

"I don't trust this guy, he's never sleeping!" She stared at Law, placing the Onigiri on his forehead upright. "Hey Doc, you can't fool me."

"Ah Quinn... I think you'll annoy him..."

"I'll paint on your face if you don't open your eyes."

"Quiiiinn...!"

"I already got a pen in my hand and it's pink." (She didn't.)

"I think he's really sleeping..."

"I got bread in my hand. With Umeboshi. What disgusting mix, huh?" She moved her lips closer to his ear and whispered, "and it's painted pink." Untying her ponytail, she moved on her knees backward as much as she could to distance herself from the bed.

"What are you trying?"

"I said, I don't trust this guy." She clamped the hair tie around her thumb, pulling it back with great suspension, so when she would let go of it, it would fly off in a strength big enough to shoot the Onigiri down. Aiming precisely, she let go of it and the hair tie flew across the room, but unfortunately passed the target, landing in the corner of the bed. "Oh nooo."

"Quinn...!," Shachi said, sounding somewhat panicky, but couldn't really cease his giggle as he found it funny, too.

The young woman moved back to the bed and leaned over Law to get the hair tie next to his head.

Law peeked with an eye first before he fully opened them. Her chest. He saw that first. "A woman shouldn't hang above a guy like that."

Quinn scared up and shrieked, backing off and hit her head against the top bunk. "Ow...!"

"Ah Quinn! What have you done?" Shachi said, worried.

She fell on the floor and was rubbing the aching spot while whimpering a bit, "see, I said he's never sleeping..."

Law pushed himself up, catching the Onigiri as it fell from his head. "Well deserved."

She arched her lips. "Ouch, that really hurts..."

"Ah, wait we got a cool pack." The redhead got to the freezer.

Looking at the pitiful person on the carpet, Law asked, "is there a reason why you've annoyed me?"

She stared at him with furrowed brows and slight miff. "Is there a reason why you've pretended to sleep?"

"Maybe I didn't pretend but actually tried."

"Liar..."

He looked at the Onigiri in his hand.

"This is for you... But I'll welcome it if you don't want it."

Law smirked and threw it up and down a bit. Well, after her pondering between Tuna-mayo and Umeboshi... "I take it; thanks, Peanut."

"Here," Shachi said and gave her a cool pack in a cloth. "Does it still hurt?"

"Yeah, I think this is gonna be a lump..." The blonde took it and pressed it against her head, moving her eyes back to Law. "Stop smirking, this is not funny..."

He tried not to, but it _was_ too funny that he even quietly chuckled. "I'm sorry." He hadn't planned to scare her, but she had been hanging with her tight shirt above his face, he _had_ to say something.

Shachi settled down again to finally eat the food she had brought them. "Oi Quinn, this is really good! Did you mix the rice with sesame oil?"

"Ahh yeah, I thought it would add some extra flavor to it," she said, glad that he liked it.

"If Pen's not coming, I'm gonna eat his' as well," he joked and relished it, trying to eat as slow as possible to extend the moment. "It's good, right Law?"

"It tastes like Onigiri."

Quinn looked at him. "Imagine, it's because it is."

He ate it, but said, "I think you've used too much sesame oil."

"Oh, really?" Quinn didn't take it offensively but rather as constructive criticism.

Shachi though didn't get what his problem was. "I think it's good, Quinn."

She herself thought the amount of sesame oil was good so that Law's statement confused her. Maybe he just didn't like it prepared with it. "Sabo found them good too."

Law swiftly quirked a brow over his lazy and tired eyes. "Well, I'm not Sabo." Her statement contributed to nothing.

And she just rolled her eyes to his'. "No, you don't say. I thought you were Judy."

"I get to the bathroom." The redhead got up and disappeared behind the door.

Quinn shifted her gaze back to the guy on the bed, who just had finished the riceball and balled the clingfilm up. "Why are you sleeping here anyway?"

His lazy gaze moved to her as well. "Is it wrong to sleep?"

"No, but I mean here and not at your place."

He raised a brow. "Is it wrong to hold a nap at my friends' place?"

"Ah, friends, I forgot you got some," Quinn replied, mirroring his expression. He didn't say much and just leaned with his arms over his thighs, hanging his head. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

She furrowed her brows a little worried. "You look no good, Doc."

"I'm still tired."

Moving on her knees closer to him, she asked, smiling, "what do prisoners use to call each other?" His face lifted and he remained quiet, questioning her behavior with his look, and she told, "you don't know any jokes, so I tell you some."

He rested his face on one palm and sighed a bit. "Then, what is it?"

Quinn grinned. "Cell phones."

Law didn't comment on it but lay back down while his feet were still placed on the carpet. Cell phones... that pun was abnormally logic in some kind of way, despite that prisoners were not allowed to carry them. Cell phones...

She got closer to the edge of the bed, leaning her arms on the mattress. "Oh oh, I have another one about unemployed people!"

Law closed his eyes. "No, thanks."

"Then not... They don't work anyway."

Silence.

His mouth corner moved briefly a little up.

"I saw that smile!" Quinn claimed.

"Don't think I did because I think they're funny." No, they weren't at all. They were silly, just like her, but it suited her.

"Yeah yeah yeah! You just don't wanna admit! Wanna hear my favorite joke?"

"About orphans?"

Surprised that he knew, her brows changed to confusion. "Huuh? I already told you?"

Law opened his eyes again, staring against the top bunk. Of course, he remembered it, that was the day when she had started to annoy with her jokes. "Two months ago."

Quinn slowed down with her excitement. "Oh..."

"How come someone like you laugh about dark humor?"

She folded her arms on the mattress, resting her chin on them while her eyes fixed Law lying. "Weeell, it's just a joke, right?"

"Doesn't change the fact it's offensive."

Her mouth corners sank. "But..."

With a smooth jerk, Law pushed himself up again so that he sat back on the edge, glancing down to her. "What's pink, long, and makes a woman cry when you put it in her mouth?"

It didn't sound funny. "No Trafalgar..."

"It's just a joke, right?" He mocked her.

Quinn turned her face. "No, I don't know that one, but I don't wanna hear it."

"Her miscarriage."

"..."

As Shachi came back from the bathroom, he saw Quinn on the floor, staring depressively away from his friend. "Oi Quinn, what's wrong?"

"Trafalgar's stupid..."

Law watched her calmly as she got up. "You're not really saddened by it, are you?"

"When you think about it, I am," she told and walked over to Shachi. She hugged him.

"Ahh, Quinn...!" Shachi startled a little as it came unexpected and made him blush.

"You're an idiot Trafalgar, I said I don't wanna hear it," Quinn said and looked grumpy at the guy while her arms were still wrapped around the redhead, her head on his shoulder. "Tell me at least you don't find it funny."

"I don't," Law replied. He didn't find jokes funny in general, period. As he saw Shachi's hands twitching, not sure if he should hug back or not, but was obviously enjoying the moment, Law was annoyed. How could someone be so happy about a woman's hug? He didn't get anyway what the hugging was all about, that blonde was overreacting. "Oi Shachi, did you even wash your hands?"

The redhead look at him. "What?! Of course, I did...!"

As Quinn realized what Law just had said, she backed off immediately. "Yuck! Shachi...!"

He panicky tried to defend himself. "I-I-I really did...!"

"Since when?" Law asked.

"I-I do wash my hands after using the bathroom since half a year now...!"

Quinn's eyes turned to slight appall. "You didn't wash your hands before?!"

"What...?! I-!" He looked nervously at her and then back to his friend. "Law...!"

"I was just curious," that one replied calmly and lay disinterested backdown.

Shachi darted his eyes back to the woman, raising his hands. "I swear I always do that now...! L-look, I'm gonna wash them again with extra much soap!"

Quinn looked after him how he rushed to the bathroom. "Ahh, men can be so gross." As her head turned back to the bed, seeing Law silently lying, Quinn moved back to it and leaned with her upper body a little over the mattress next to him, looking at his eye-resting face. "Say Doc. Did you extra look up for that joke?"

Law opened his eyes a little and intended to look back at her. Her cleavage. Women were so careless. He closed his eyes again. "What?"

"Yesterday you said, you don't know any," she reminded him.

Well, she got him, so he confessed flatly, "I did."

Quinn smiled somewhat excited. "Ouh, did you look up for some more?"

Her cleavage. She should put it away. "No. This one just stuck in my head because it was, well..."

She grinned a little teasingly and leaned closer to him on her elbows. "How come you even did?"

Law peeked at her with one eye. "What's the staring?"

"Can I ask you something?" Quinn suddenly said and her grin fainted. "You don't care about Judy, right?"

He tilted his head to her and returned a look. "Why?"

"I told you she somehow likes you."

"Law!" Shachi jumped out of the bathroom with his phone in his hand, the panic drew on his face. "Penguin's in a fight, he needs our help!"

* * *

 _ **Mei** \- Aw, you get a hug back haha. Well, I may know an exception: ridiculous long negative reviews? Haha. Anyway, that's sweet, thank you :)_

 _ **Guest** \- I appreciate that, thank you! Well, the focused is not on Sabo, but I'll try to put enough into this fic, or at least more little scenes like in this chapter._


	24. Against the Law

**24\. Against the Law**

Law's brows narrowed slightly. "What do you mean? Where's he now?" The terms Penguin plus fight recalled nothing good in his mind when he thought back to the wound on his forehead.

"He texted me a while ago, I just received the message now," Shachi responded and checked his phone again. "I think he's still at work, there's not much written but 'Fight help'."

"Geez, this guy..." Law got up from the bed and walked to the entrance, putting on his shoes. "Call the police in case, we're going."

Quinn, who didn't get the situation at all, got up as well and her brows changed to worry. "Who's he fighting again?"

"Probably the ne-, what are you doing?" As Law had turned around he saw the blonde getting into her shoes as well.

"I'm coming with you," she said matter-of-factly.

"No, you're staying here."

"Huh? Why?"

"Quinn, this can be dangerous," Shachi told her while he got ready himself.

Like an unfairly treated child, she returned, "what? But I'm worried about Penguin too!"

Law didn't start to argue with her because he saw _this,_ not taking that female something with them, as a matter of course. Ignoring her instead, he opened the door and got outside, casually calling his companion with him, "let's go Shachi."

Shachi didn't do either with her and thought his friend's words were enough to make her listen. He walked out with him on the veranda, which was lighted by weak bulbs while the night sky was already showing as the transition from day to night in spring was quite fast.

"Huh, wait, I wanna come with you!"

Law and Shachi were passing the neighbor's door that got the doctor stopping. The guy that lived inside this apartment was most probably Penguin's opponent.

"You think he's home?" asked the redhead as he watched his mate walking up to it.

"I'm just checking." Law knocked loudly and waited a few seconds, trying to listen if anyone in there moved; but as nothing happened, he didn't hesitate to continue moving. "No, he's not."

The two went to his car, Shachi dialing the police to inform them prematurely. At the vehicle, they noticed that the blonde had followed them.

"Quinn?! You should go back," Shachi said.

"But you can't just let me here all clueless!"

Law was annoyed and looked down at her, reflecting it through his calm but sore voice, "I said you're staying here. If anyone touches you, you'll be only in the way!"

"I-I will stay in the car, I promise!" she claimed, looking at him with begging eyes. "Please Trafalgar."

Staring into that face full of stubbornness, Law knew, talking her out of it would cost time, which they didn't have at the moment. He quirked his upper lip a bit and got into the car. "Whatever."

Shachi pulled the passenger seat forward to let her taking place behind him before he settled down himself on the front. The three fastened their seat belts and drove off without delay. That would be the second time for Quinn to have a ride in that car, and again she was distracted by events around her so that she couldn't appreciate the drive.

"Did you call the police?" Law asked.

"Yeah, I sent them right to his work," Shachi replied. "I hope this won't be anything serious."

Quinn was still confused. "What's with your neighbor anyway?"

"Uhh, we've got a bad relationship with him. The last time you know, then when he hit his head; he had brought his broken car to Pen's work before and Pen told him it won't make it in near future. Dude hadn't listened, car broke down, he blamed Pen for it."

She remembered the story, and that confused her even more. "I thought Trafalgar handled it?"

"I forced him to apologize, but it could've been stupid," Law said.

"Ah no Cap, we still don't know what's going on there!"

"Poor Penguin... I hope he's okay..."

Shachi tilted his head over to her with a smile, trying to comfort her. "Ah don't worry Quinn, he's tougher than he looked. He'll be okay."

Law didn't get the purpose of his words and said instead, "no, I'm worried too. Penguin's a quite proud guy, who thinks he can handle a fight himself. That he called for help means something serious."

Appall reflected on Quinn's face. "You don't think someone will kill him?!"

"Everything's possible."

She started to panic. "What?! Nooo! Drive faster!"

"Law...! What are you saying, you're worrying her...!" Law's way to passed bad thoughts was as always calm and dry, Shachi wasn't sure if it only panicked her and not also himself.

"She asked," he returned in the same attitude.

Leaning forwards between the two front seats, Quinn told them in slight hysteria, "Penguin needs our help! You're too slow! What tempo is that please?! I'm even faster on my bicycle!"

"Shut up," Law muttered.

"On my _broken_ bicycle!"

"Geez, I can't drive faster here!" He shouted back at her as they were already at the road's speed limit. "You want the police to stop us?!"

Her mouth corners sank and she became whiny. "But Penguin!"

"Quinn...! You're panicking too much... !" Shachi said, still trying to maintain a comforting sound. "You're gonna make him nervous..."

Realizing that her attitude brought nothing but annoyance and well, nervosity, she sat back down and got quiet. "I'm sorry..."

"Geez, don't hope for a next time," Law grumbled.

She hadn't imagined him to be someone that got nervous easily; sure Shachi only said that because he was nervous himself. All in all it was his best friend (she guessed) they were talking about. "I'm sorry," said she though as she didn't want to be a burden after begging them to accompany them.

"Women."

But of course, he _had_ to say that. "Oaah, you're serious?! I've already said sorry! You're so rude, just like your jokes!"

Surprised washed over Shachi. "Law told a joke?" He was the last person on earth the redhead connected with any joke, it was so frustrating that Penguin and he even stopped joking around him.

Quinn gritted her teeth in contempt. "It was so dark, I thought I'd gone blind!"

"You started it."

"But your level was darker than vantablack!"

As the two hold sudden silence, Shachi felt awkward by the tension in the car so that he leaned back as well, saying nothing.

Penguin's workplace was in an industrial area with no locals living around, so if anything happened to him there, no one would notice it until the next day. Law was quite worried that they were short on time since they didn't know when the message had been sent exactly. Almost half an hour was his work far in normal traffic situations. Since it was night, the roads were emptier, and driving out of the center those were completely. The probability that any police car would hide around the corner was high, they would definitely follow them if they ignore traffic rules.

Well, maybe that wasn't that bad of an idea?

"Law, the streetlight will turn red...!" Shachi shouted as they drove right towards a crossroad with yellow lights.

Hearing that, Quinn leaned forward again so that her eyes could confirm. "What are you doing?!"

"Taking the police with me, it's faster that way," Law told calmly.

Shachi's face distorted to shock. "What?! You know there'll be consequences when it's just a false alarm!"

"It won't." The longer they were driving the more Law got the feeling they had no time to waste. For various reasons the polices they had called would probably take their time to finally get to the scene so that having the patrol follow them would make things easier.

They passed the red light, and as he had expected was a police car around. The sound and lights of the police siren started right behind them.

Quinn turned around to look through the back window, facing the police vehicle right behind them. "Oh my, things my students should never know..."

Law tried to reduce the arrival time as much as he could. "The sirens should daunt his opponent."

"What if he runs away?!" Shachi asked and kept shifting his eyes every few seconds to the rear-view mirror outside.

Having a look up to the mirror in front of him as well, Law briefly scanned the light spectacle of red and blue. He smirked. "Then we have to be faster."

As he accelerated the car, Quinn got scared. "Holy! I said faster, but not Kamikaze...!"

"Sit down," he ordered and she fell back into her seat, enduring the pressure as they sped up in a tempo that was far above the speed limit.

Another siren started and Shachi remarked, it were two police vehicles now that chased them.

"That's fine. You never know how many policemen you need," Law claimed nonchalantly.

"But you're tired Doc, this is dangerous!"

"You could've let me rest before."

"You could've just said something if you really tried...!" Everything beyond normal such as ghosts or monsters didn't scare Quinn at all, but a car chase with the police; dangerous speed with an over-worked and tired doctor; Penguin in danger; _that_ made her anxious like hell. She pressed her back against the seat and tried to relax, her unsettled face appeared like froze in time.

Shachi turned to her to see her discomfort as her gaze was fixed to her own feet. "Quinn, trust Law, he's a good driver. He won't let an accident happen, and it's for Penguin."

Law quirked a brow over his bored-looking eyes. "Didn't you want me to drive faster?"

Moving her gaze back to the driver, she furrowed her brows by the thought of consequences their little car chase could cause. "But what if they put you in jail?"

Her soft side pulled a sly smile on his lips, which she could see only through his teasing tone. "I don't know why it should bother you anyway if I'm going to jail." Whereby _jail_ was too exaggerated again.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Excuse me for my care, Dr. Reckless."

"You're more like Peanut butter."

"Umeboshi."

"Peanut butter."

"Bread."

"Peanut butter with bread."

She blushed and narrowed her brows as awkwardness overcame her. "The hell are you saying?"

He chuckled, amused to her reaction. "A peanut butter sandwich; anything wrong with it?"

"I guess a combination that none of us would eat."

"None of us but me," Shachi commented randomly with a touch on his stomach. "Can we stop talk about food, I'm getting hungry."

Awkward, that was the term she used to describe that pointless word exchange. But the more she thought about it as she tried to mind other things, she found discrepancies in her observations. "Huh, but if you hate bread that much, why did you recommend the burger to me?"

"Because it was the recommendation of the house. And 'hate' is a little harsh."

"Law's maybe picky with food, but not that bad," Shachi said. "For example, he can eat pizza when he's hungry but only those super thin ones, and he leaves out the edges."

"Oh, that's adorable," she said in deadpan. "Just like some of my students."

"I guess some of your students also laugh about bad jokes."

"Some of my students don't even understand jokes... Oh but wait, did you at least eat all the candies I brought you back then?"

"No."

"Oh... okay."

Meanwhile, Law had sped up so much that they even lost sight with the polices as those gave up on accelerating. But if they would follow the main road, what they probably were going to do in a more decent pace, they would catch up with them easily.

Looking out, Quinn crossed her fingers on both sides, shouting to overcome her fear of their speed, "no risk, no fuuuun...!"

...

He reduced their arrival time notably.

"We're there," Law said then at a dark road with giant factories and parked the car for the police sightable. It was also out of range for anyone who would try to attack the vehicle, since Penguin's workplace was still a three minutes run around the corner.

Law and Shachi got out and looked to their behinds. "The police isn't yet."

Looking into the car at the blonde, Law ordered, "whatever you hear, don't leave the car."

"And what if someone sets this car on fire?!" Quinn asked, overdoing it again with her word accuracy.

Law returned in deadpan, "then you stay here and die."

Her lips arched. "But seriously, be careful you two, don't do anything stupid! Avoid violence if possible! Talk to each other!"

He smirked a little and closed the car door. _Teachers._

* * *

Penguin was fucked up, beaten black and blue. When he had gone to work this morning, he hadn't been prepared for a brawl with his neighbor and his friends as it was already a month that had passed since the last intersection. Now he laid in the corner, surrounded by five greasy idiots, and hoped that anyone would come and help him as his power had left him.

Having a crowbar in his hand, his neighbor looked down to him while he relished the look they had caused on the poor guy. "Yeah, you see what you get from that. Breaking my car and asking your stupid friend for help." He hauled out and hit his leg, making Penguin crying out in pain.

"Ey you, did you call your friend again?" Another guy said with Penguin's phone in his hand, which he had been trying to access the whole time since they had seen their victim had typed a message. "Ah, I can't unlock this shitty phone." Annoyed, he threw it down on the floor and kicked it away like some disturbing trash.

"You bastards... you'll regret that..." Penguin said, trying to work against the pain.

His neighbor showed no smile to his current win but felt even more provoked by anything he said. His fist tightened around the crowbar and he looked irritated into his victim's eyes. "Oh, what will happen? Will ya friends come again? We're five and the other are only two!" Irked by Penguin's face, the guy hauled off for another hit, but his arm got caught and he turned around in a rush, trying to push his interrupter away. "What the fu-"

Law backed off when he tried to ram his elbow into him.

Totally messed up on the ground, Penguin heard the voice of Shachi calling him, and also his eyes sensed the appearance of Law, which he hadn't expected. He didn't know how much time had passed since the message, but he was relieved and happy to see his friends didn't let him down.

The neighbor's troop faced the two intruders, eyeing them and grumbling. "Are those his shitty friends?"

"That one's the fuck-face bros!" The guy shouted and pointed to the young doctor.

Law hadn't expected anything when he came here, but he was prepared that he would end up in an unfair constellation. "Five against one, you people make me sick."

"You wanna fight again? Let's see how strong you're now, asshole," said the greasy neighbor with a lot more confidence in his angry voice than the last time they had business with each other.

"Well, you still can choose not to fight," Law told him with a cocky smirk. For the time being, he had no wish to put hand on those, since the police should arrive soon. It was the best if Shachi and he would leave as little harm on their opponent as possible to avoid anything judicial against themselves.

Stepping closer to Law while holding the crowbar ready, he looked deep into the gray eyes. "Or what?"

The crowbar again. Law moved slowly into the direction of tools while his provoking eyes didn't leave the guy. "Too weak to use your fists?"

"Shut up," he shouted and hauled for a hit. Law grabbed the nearest by standing and handy item, which was a metal rod, to block his attack right above his face. The guy attempted a few other strikes that he also blocked, and a big fight broke out.

* * *

That Quinn was excluded from the mess made her extremely anxious. Sitting inside the car and looking out of the black tinted windows, the darkness allowed her not a glimpse of the environment so that she couldn't tell exactly where both had gone. Praying and hoping that the three were alright was the only thing she could do then, and also that the police would arrive soon. Those were pretty much taking their time...

Trying to calm down she took a few deep breaths and told herself everything was going to be fine. For Quinn, it was the first time to be involved with the police (or at least the first time since long after her father was arrested). She was not much read in the judicial system, she had no clue what consequences a car chase could bring along and if the polices could make any exceptions in case of an emergency that gambled with people's life. Passengers were spared with punishment; and though she thought Law was the last person she knew she would care about, it didn't mean she wouldn't do the slightest.

People said the first impression would last in most cases. It did with her, or well, the first 'real' impression. The first time she had met him, she hadn't talked that much with him, since he was only doctoring her. The second impression had been in her apartment as Judy had taken him home; he wasn't that annoying either, pretty much okay for a one-night-stand of hers.

Thinking about it, Law had brought more impressions along than she remembered. If he would have been that bad at their second meeting, she probably wouldn't have gone to the embarrassing appointment after. But from there, his behavior became hideous step by step. She felt like he had taken the right to act more openly towards her in an arrogant and selfish way, only because they knew each other more than just through their doctor-patient relationship.

It was hard to believe that someone like him was befriended with kind people like Penguin and Shachi in any way; but only in that one week they have spent a little time with each other after they had talked at the Easter event in the hospital, Quinn had seen new sides of Law that she hadn't expected him to have. He wasn't like a sudden stranger as his personality still reflected a lot of his arrogance and rudeness, but he was definitely someone whose attendance she didn't mind anymore. She found him annoying though, so she annoyed back.

Quinn didn't feel weird for worrying about Law getting in trouble with the police, because she knew he wouldn't deserve it for this time; he was not stupid to do such just for fun (though she guessed he _did_ have fun).

Leaning back her head with an exhausted sigh, she began to eye the car's interior to distract herself. It was a four-seated model (Judy had sat on her lap back then), the ceiling was quite low, and in general, that vehicle was set lower than regular cars.

Quinn leaned forward between both front seats to have a look on the bobblehead doll. As she had expected, it was stuck to the surface in order not to fall down. How much did that guy like it to be ready to glue it onto his car? Perhaps he hadn't but someone else?

She poked its head with her finger and had fun watching it dancing.

Or were ice bears his favorite animals? Law and animals, it didn't suit him at all, or at least not with what _she_ knew about him. In any case it would be adorable _if_ they were, due to the contrast to his ominous appearance.

Sunken in her thoughts, Quinn hadn't noticed the arrival of the polices. She startled as they knocked on the front window, made her shifting the one on the back down.

"You're the driver of this car?" A policeman said with strict voice.

Quinn tried not to get nervous, but in her mind, she already started panicking and it didn't take much until she displayed it through her speech. "No, I'm not, but Sir! I know the ride was a little over the limit-"

"A little much," he cut her off.

She furrowed her brows desperately. "B-but, our friend's in danger and we needed to rush here, and and and, you were polices, and we already call them and send them here! But by theory, you would arrive faster than your people, and you see? You were faster! We need your help, there's this fight...!"

"Miss, get out of the car," the officer prompted.

She got out, but couldn't stop her mouth. "Sir, you must help my friends! I think there's not much time left!"

"Where are these friends now?"

"Uhhh, they went around the corner," she said and pointed uncertainly to the direction she had seen them disappear. Her eyes made a round to acknowledge two police vehicles, all four policemen staring at her and let her nerves trembling. "There's a fight..."

"The driver's with them?" He asked, and she nodded. Turning to his partner, the guy kept the nonchalance and carefreeness. "You go and check?"

It was sickening to witness the police's attitude. "Yo," said the other one and walked casually off like they needed to show their cool dominance in the whole game. Well, they probably really did.

Quinn narrowed her brows, getting impatient only by watching how slow they worked. "You have to hurry...!"

The police officer next to her folded his arms and told her displeased and strict, "Miss, first, you're not telling _us_ what we have to do."

"I'm sorry..." She looked somewhat timidly down. "We were really in a hurry and-"

"We're gonna ask the driver ourselves."

"I'm sorry, Sir..."

Out of nowhere in the silence of the area, a shot fell. The bunch startled.

"That was a shot!" He shouted to his colleagues.

Hearing that, Quinn's heart sped up in a quarter of a second and her eyes stoned from the shock. She looked at the police officer with anxiety. "God, you need to get in! Please Sir, my friends!"

He tried to calm her down and two of his colleagues drew their guns. "We go and check this out."

Quinn's eyes followed them and she tried not to get upset as the worst possible scenarios rushed through her mind. None of them had expected firearms, and she had no clue how many it were.

The policeman looked down at her. "Your driver friend doesn't happen to own a gun, right?"

Her head rushed immediately up and she answered displeased to his question, "no, he doesn't!"

"Well, I hope for you, you're right," he said.

* * *

"Yeah, I own a gun, you see right," the neighbor shouted and pointed with his weapon to both, Law and Shachi, while he slowly walked backward to the wounded guy on the floor. "Move and I'll shoot ya all."

Shachi couldn't find words to the situation as he was scared to say something wrong, but he also couldn't leave it completely uncommented. "You're crazy...! The police won't be happy seeing that...!"

"Oh shut up, I won't let ya call the cops," the guy said and aimed at the redhead.

Two of four of his friends lost in the fight and lay on the ground either unconscious or strengthless to say something. Another, who had been just as motivated as him before, was now uncertain about the action his friend took. "Ey bro, you'll really shoot them...?"

He rolled his eyes annoyed. "If I don't, they'll tell the cops."

Shachi forced the lump down his throat with a painful swallow. "You're cr-!"

"Shut up!" The neighbor guy pointed to Law then. "You! You knocked out my bros!"

Carefully observing the situation, Law tried not to make his gaze on the gun too obvious. With his thumb, he wiped the blood from his lips, which movement made the dude extremely nervous that he ordered him not to twitch a muscle at all. Law and Shachi had a good fight with those five, but with precise hits on their jaws, Law only needed one attempt to strike two down. The neighbor's nervosity was partly entertaining and partly unsettling. Though it was a somewhat good feel to own the scene, he could never know when this guy would pull the trigger.

"How do ya do that?!"

"I didn't know they fight like girls," Law responded.

Jaw-slacking about his provocation, Shachi looked to him. "Law...!"

"On this industrial area, no one will hear you that late," he said while the gun hovered above Penguin's head, who closed his eyes to calm himself. "And now, get down on your knees!" He pointed back to the redhead, and he raised both hands, letting himself slowly down. Seeing Law still standing, the greasy guy threatened him as well. "You too!"

Law did the same as Shachi but tried to keep a cool head. It didn't happen daily that some guy was pointing a real gun at them.

"I could shoot ya right away, but ya humiliated me, so will I."

One of the neighbor's comrades gulped. "Bro, if the cops find out about-"

"They won't, they won't, they won't!" He exclaimed in hysteria.

"Cap, this guy's crazy...!" Shachi stated.

"Well, you made him your enemy."

"But I didn't know he owns a gun...!"

The redhead startled as he felt the cold metal of the firearm against his forehead. "Yeah, I do own one, and since I do, I imagine every night how I blow ya brain outta ya head."

Law side-glanced the two quietly. If everything would go right, the bastard only needed to get over to him and point the gun the same way as he was doing now with Shachi. In a moment of inattention, Law would be able to disarm him. "Oi."

Hearing the young doctor's flat expression, he turned to him and kept an upset look while his legs slowly carried him over. To show how serious he was, he lifted his arm in a 90-degree angle up and shoot against the ceiling, startling all attendant through the loud sound.

"Hands up or we'll shoot!" Someone exclaimed over the room and his eyes and those of his friends rushed to the garage entrance while Law and Shachi stayed with their back to it, quiet and still.

"Fuck the cops!" One shouted and raised his arms as those were aiming at them.

The neighbor guy looked appalled. "Since when did ya call them?!"

"Put the gun down!" The polices prompted again, scanning the situation.

Without a smile but a rather exasperated and tired look, the guy load and held his gun in front of Law's head.

How he wanted it.

"Well, now that you got me, I'll totally kill this guy here first and m-" Law grabbed the cylinder and pointed the weapon in a jerk away from himself, hitting the guy's wrist to cause his reflexive hand-over.

"Gosh! Law!" Shachi got panicky as he watched his friend carrying out that risky move.

The police reacted quick and ran up to the guy, forcing him down on his knees. Also, his four friends were chained, but those had given up already as they just saw the patrol's intruding.

Free from the fight, Shachi pushed himself up immediately and ran over to his wounded mate, who hadn't moved a bit from the spot. "Gosh, Penguin!"

"Shachi! Law!" As the redhead tried to help him up, he groaned and signalized a halt. "Ahh! That hurts...!"

Law walked up to them as well, eyeing more closely what concerned his body. "Looks like fractures."

Penguin started to tear up a little. "Oh god, I'm so happy to see you guys! I thought I would die this night!"

"Any minute later, you might," Law replied dryly, but they were used to his way; they knew him long enough to see his relief under his cold facade.

One police officer went over to the group. "Everything alright with him?"

"No, we need an ambulance."

Shachi looked at the policeman. "Officer, what will happen to those guys now?"

"Well, that's up to the judge. But to my observation, I think for mayhem and illegal possession of firearms, such as using it and holding hostage, that sounds like jail to me."

Indescribable joy washed over Penguin and Shachi's faces as they shared the happy moment with each other by exchanging soundless and wide smiles. It simply meant that they wouldn't have to deal with their neighbor any longer.

"The court will send you all letters for a witness report," the policeman added. "I would like to check your ID's later."

"Ah, mine's in the car," Shachi noted.

"Talking about the car. Whom of you's the driver?"

"That's me," Law said.

"Normally that would make a great penalty. We can see that as an emergency, but that you didn't stop when we asked will still have consequences." With a poker face, the officer went off to his colleagues.

"Oi people!" Quinn shouted and ran up to the bunch.

What darted right into her eyes was Penguin's crooked smile as he lay in awful condition on the floor, waving with his left hand weakly at her. "Hey Quinn, you're here too?"

"Oh my god, Penguin!" She said in shock and knelt down to him with the need to give him a hug.

Touched by her arms, some pain ran through his body and he warned her instantly. "Ahh, b-be careful...!"

"I think he broke his right arm and some ribs," Law told her and she let go immediately.

"Those people deserve the worst hell and eternal slavery!"

"I-I'm alright, that will cure faster than you think," he comforted her.

She nooded with furrowed brows before she got up and turned to the other two. "Are you okay?!"

Shachi smiled and waved one-handed. "Ah, we're fine, don't worry about us at all. Just some bruises."

"I-I heard the gunshot and I thought you got hit! Oh my god, I was so worried, but the police didn't let me look, I mean, of course they won't let a civilian... But still! Ouh boy my heart...! I thought you all will die when there was another, and and and, they didn't call the ambulance, but I told them they better should do, I mean, what if you got shot and every minute counted, so I did it myself and-!" She couldn't grasp herself for words anymore and wrapped her arms around Shachi tightly.

"Ah Quinn, you don't have to cry! We're alive! We're totally!" Shachi responded and hugged her back.

Yap, she was way more softie than Law had expected. With a little smirk on his face, he looked at her and commented teasingly, "well, I didn't know it would bother you that much if I get shot."

Looking from Shachi's shoulder at him, Quinn pointed out her tongue. "Not even an idiot like you deserve that." As cheeky she had said that, her sincere worry didn't vanish in her face.

Law shoved his hands in his pockets and slowly walked off from the spot. "I'll talk to the police now and then drive to the hospital right away to treat Penguin's wounds. So either you come with me, or let the police take you home."

Quinn let go of Shachi and he called after his friend. "Ah wait, Law! Why don't you let another doctor do?"

"Planning and preparation would be too long, I can do right away."

He ran after him since he had to get to the car to get his ID as well anyway. "Should we come with you?!"

"I don't care."

As the two were gone, Quinn knelt back down next to Penguin. "Does it hurt much?"

He looked at her. "Yeah, terribly." Whenever he attempted to push himself up, it hurt so that he eventually gave up with an exhausted sigh. "Ah, I can't move..."

"Ah, you better stay still," she said and remained by his side. She had no clue what had happened during the fight, but by the look of Shachi and Law, she could be sure that those two had been trying to protect their defeated friend. "Penguin."

"Hm?"

Quinn smiled and poked softly his cheek. "Trafalgar's not that bad."

* * *

 _ **Mei** \- Yeah, I hated that joke as well. Looked up for some darkest joke and that one just got me speechless lol (wasn't even sure if I should put that in first, since I don't wanna offend anyone xD). And I'm not quite sure what you mean exactly, but it sounds good and so I'm very glad you enjoy my story and thank you blah blah as always haha :3!_

 _ **Sarge1130** \- I'm also stressed nowadays, life responsibilities can be so nerve-robbing ~3~. Yeah Quinn's acting quite stupid, but only because in her head Law's still an arse :D_


	25. In the middle of the night

**25\. In the middle of the night**

None of them had expected that this night was going to be so long, especially not Law. He was used to long nights without prior warning since it only needed the spontaneous beep of his pager on the request of his superior, but this time some other occurrence made him return voluntarily to the hospital. Surely he would love to slip under his blanket and sleep the whole night until the next night would make its turn, but some things were more important right then, like the immediate treatment of his companion. He felt obliged to perform the operation in order not to let him wait since the hospital and his current shifting surgeon colleagues were pretty busy with their schedules.

"Ah, Law... it hurts," Penguin said, lying on the operating table.

"You can put him under plexus anesthetic," the young doctor told the anesthetist. Walking up to Penguin, he eyed the tired guy, who just looked as awful as himself. "Does anything else hurt?"

"Just a headache and my chest," he told and Law glanced at the bandage around his head. His old wound had caught a new hit with the crowbar, leaving for this time a big laceration on the spot.

"We can give him Fentanyl," the anesthetist said and Law nodded.

"We'll narcotize your right arm now, I guess you're tired enough to doze off all by yourself without sleeping pills," said he.

Penguin looked up at him confused. "Ehh, you're gonna fiddle on me while I'm mentally presence?"

"Correct."

His assistance pulled a green curtain through the operating table to separate the body part from the rest. They shifted the trolley with the X-Rays attached, to him, and he glanced at it, mumbling as he studied the fractures, "so, dia- and metaphyseal..."

Beside minimalist rib fractures that need no bigger treatment than medication, it were only fractures in his arm that needed surgery. The way they had damaged his arm was for man-made wounds awfully to imagine how they actually managed that. He hoped that his attackers would receive a right punishment, and Penguin a decent sum of injury award.

"It looks like a 22-B2 and a 23-A1," Law told his assistants and turned back to Penguin's arm while it was slowly turning numb.

"Uhh Law," he moaned tiredly behind the curtain, "I'm sleeping now, please don't wake me up when you're finished..."

"Alright."

While they were still waiting for his arm to be ready, the medical assistants prepared the equipment. One of the new employed ones, just graduated last year, looked over to Law with a timid smile. "Doctor, you know the patient?"

"Yeah, he's a friend," Law replied quite disinterested while he had continued to study the X-Rays.

Surprised by the answer of the surgeon, who she heard to be known among his colleagues to be a cold and lone wolf, she tried to build some small talk. "Oh, what happened to him? His whole body's covered with suffusion. You look no well either Dr. ..., I'm sorry, I can't remember your name yet."

He let out a deep and tired sighed, ignoring her personal question and keep his professionalism. "Trafalgar. Those hematomas were caused by external forces."

"Oh, a fight? And I forgot to mention, I just talked to the radiology; they have forgotten to attach the note about his rib fractures. During the CT, they could observe how one rib just misses a lung during his arrival, but it shifted back to its natural position, they couldn't make an X-Ray of it," she said and tried to sound casual while she actually felt a little awkward about his rejection. Looking at the X-Rays herself, she pointed to the mentioned rib. "There, number six."

Unimpressed he looked at her, shooting her a cold and annoyed gaze. "You just tell me now?"

"I'm sorry, I hadn't enough sleep yesterday, so I'm pretty tired and forget things fast...," she said and bowed her head as she felt instantly intimidated by him.

Law looked over to the anesthetist and told him to set his companion under general anesthetic in order to perform additional surgery on his rib later.

The new assistant forced a smile on her lips, trying to loosen the tension in the air. "Phew, he has luck that he's spared from a rib puncture, right?"

"He has a big laceration on his forehead, did you at least provide him with Aprotinin?"

She nodded. "Uhm, yes." Law quirked a brow and turned with inner annoyance away from her, and her eyes fell to her other colleagues who shook their heads behind his back, telling their new co-worker that she should give up on approaching him.

Not only that he wasn't really on friendly terms with his colleagues, he also was too tired for any small-talk. Now and then there was someone among the staff that approached him, especially new employees, but except for Dr. Dillan, he avoided any word exchange that wasn't related to work, and he didn't care about as how rude they considered him when he obviously ignored anything else.

* * *

Waiting in the empty halls of the hospital, Quinn and Shachi played some rounds of tic-tac-toe. They sat next to each other with the magnetic drawing pad and were fighting their tiredness continuously with some little jokes and stories. The police had been holding them longer on the scene than expected, questioning them in a pace that had left the four turning old. Even the ambulance had arrived later than wanted, despite that Quinn had called them early enough.

"I won again!" she said as she made a diagonal line through three circles in the lattice. "Wohoo."

"Ah, I suck at this game..." Shachi gave up and leaned back, yawning into his hand while a tear squeezed out from the corner of his eye.

"This game's actually pretty simple, you just need to understand the system."

He looked at her and smiled weakly. "Oh man Quinn, how can you still have so much energy?"

She leaned a little forwards and whispered with her eyes drifting vigilantly to the side, "the secret is that I convince my body from having energy." Bending back again and looking at the quiet guy, she snickered somewhat. "It's already after two, hell why should I have energy around this time?"

Glancing briefly on the clock and then back to her, he laughed a little and realized just now how tired she actually looked. "You look like a panda."

"Oh, I like pandas." Eyeing him a little then, she added, "and you look like... a raccoon, beaten up on the street and left there..."

"What?" He queried in wonder about that weird simile.

Furrowing her brows, she gently wiped over the bruise above his eye, got him blushing somewhat. "Ah I'm sorry, that has sounded weird right? I mean, raccoons are also cute, but I feel sad when I see a hurt raccoon, I mean who doesn't except for bad people, and it's more likely to find one beaten by street scums than a panda. You know, pandas... raccoons... size difference, origins, blah blah. I mean, i-if you don't like raccoons, I'm sorry, then I'll take it back!"

Flattered by her care, he grinned shyly and leaned his head back, staring against the ceiling. "Don't worry, your way to say that had sounded too lovely as that it could hurt anyone."

Too lovely? Quinn deepened her voice around a few octaves and tried the manliest act she could pull. "Well Mister, back then in the jungle, I _ate_ raccoons."

He slimmed his eyes as he wasn't sure what that weird voicing was supposed to be, snickering a bit. "What was that, Quinn?"

"Uhh, I tried to sound not like a softie...?" she replied and blushed in embarrassment as she realized how silly that was, looking awkwardly to her lap.

"No one talks like that," he said and laughed. "And since when do raccoons live in the jungle?"

"Oh maaaan, it's okay, don't laugh at me." Placing herself sideways on the bench, she put her arm on the backrest and lay her head down, giving off a sigh. "I'm so tired, how can Trafalgar work around this time?"

"He has some superpowers I guess. Why are you waiting here anyway, don't you wanna go home?"

Quinn narrowed her eyes and mumbled some random thoughts instead of paying his question attention after he had mentioned 'superpowers'. "Maybe he's really from a parallel universe... Or an alien... Trafalgar the martian..."

"Uhh Quinn?"

She shifted her eyes to him, still with her mind elsewhere. "Dr. Alien..."

"What are you saying?"

"Super Trafalgar maybe..."

Shachi laughed slightly. "Quinn, you don't wanna go home? Should I call a cab for you?"

Realizing her absence then, she looked at him more lively now and shook her head back into reality. "I-I'm sorry, you said superpowers and I was totally... yeah, anyway, can you say it again please?"

"Should I call a cab for you? Don't you wanna head home, it's pretty late."

She shook her head one more. "I wanna see Penguin being alright first, tomorrow's Sunday anyway, so I've got nothing to do and can sleep longer."

"Ah, you don't have to worry, Law will handle that without problems! He's an excellent surgeon!"

Idly, she was staring at him with a flat and blank expression. "Whenever you talk about him, you sound like being in love with that guy."

"What...?! No! I mean, as a friend I respect him and his skills as a doctor!"

She chuckled and jumped up on her feet, stretching her body from the stiffness. "I was just kidding."

Dr. Dillan already mentioned him to be a great surgeon, so she didn't doubt that; and after this long night, she didn't doubt him to be a good friend as well. Maybe he was a jerk with some sexist attitude and comments, but everyone had their bad and good sides she guessed, so she started to kind of respect those good sides of him.

It was weird though that she had called him 'friend' when she had talked to the police since their relationship was until then anything but on friendly terms. If she would ever really be befriended with him like Shachi and Penguin did was questionable; because first, he didn't appear like anyone to wanna make friends (that the other two knew him so long meant something); second, he was still a sexual and sort of love interest of Judy (he better not hurt her...).

But well, the question was: when do people consider each other friends?

After someone had the courage to word their relationship as such, or after surviving a night in a crisis situation together with police and thugs? Maybe it just happened naturally in a flow without the need of mentioning it. She and him, however, were still at war and only declared a truce.

* * *

"Peanut."

Quinn always wanted a cute nickname, that's what she had told Penguin.

"Peanut."

Well, peanuts were some natural enemies of hers, so it was pretty ironic that Law chose to address her like that; but he also was not spared with weird nicknames that literally didn't suit his taste, though she wasn't consistent with it like he was as she gave him too many.

"Hey, Peanut."

Nevertheless, 'Peanut' was _somehow_ cute. She got used to it pretty soon.

"Peanut butter, wake up."

Hearing Law's voice the fourth time now during her sleep, Quinn slowly forced her eyes open and realized that he had been calling her the whole time. In his car she woke up tired, her gaze falling to the displayed time in the front that said something around four in the night (or morning). Straightening a little from the black leather seat while she felt the seat belt held her back from moving strainless any farther, she rubbed her eyes before she glanced on the driver to share looks with him.

"You're home," Law informed her from the driver seat as his body was tilted to the back, one arm thrown over the backrest.

She looked out of the window and recognized the four-story-building they were parking in front of as her apartment, what surprised her. Moving her eyes back to Law in wonder, seeing them alone in the car, she asked, "where's Shachi?"

"I already dropped him off."

Glaring at him with more consciousness then, Quinn saw how tired and awful he was looking at the moment. His gray eyes were tinted a light red, dressed with eye bags underneath like he hadn't had sleep for years while his face was marked with some bruises and dried blood on his lips; over his temple and cheekbones. Looked like he hadn't found time yet to clean his face.

"Doctor, you look terrible," she joked with a small smile, stretching her body a little with both her hands raising, the sound of some bones clicking back in order appeared from her neck down her spine.

"And if you're gonna stay longer, I'll blame you."

Slowly and still with drained muscles, she unfastened her seat belt. "I can't remember to actually got into this car, did you kidnap me? Is Penguin alright?"

"You fell asleep in the hospital and as it seemed impossible to wake you up, Shachi carried you in. And yeah, Penguin's alright."

Congrats, another time in this fancy car without the chance of appreciating the ride.

Not remembering at all when she had dozed off, Quinn rubbed her neck sheepishly. "Oops, I'm so sorry tehe." She pushed the lever on the side of the seat in front of her to fold the backrest down, making space for her to get outside, but her gaze fell back to Law, who was waiting patiently for her to leave the car. "Uhm Doctor..."

He looked at her.

"Don't you wanna come up and rest here?"

"Are you flirting with me?" he said in deadpan.

Quinn narrowed her eyes unamused about his joke. "No. I'm inviting you to stay at my place because you look deadly tired as that you could drive home safely."

The smiles he gave her, such as now, looked always like he had planned something malice; she wondered if he was just disabled to smile more friendly. "I appreciate your care, but no thanks."

"But what if you're falling asleep momentarily during the ride? This is super dangerous."

"I'm used to tired car rides. It never happened before."

Quinn pursed her lips and leaned down against the forward-folded car seat, staring at him innocently. "Hmm...Take it as the invitation from back then."

His eyes rolled up for a swift moment as he tried to recall what she meant before they lowered back to her. "The one that was only for _that one night_?"

She put both thumbs up. "Yesss..."

Law leaned back and turned on the engine. "If you don't get out now, I really have to kidnap you."

Folding her arms and settling comfortably back to her seat as well, her face changed to carefreeness and she moved her eyes casually out of the window, awaiting his drive-off. "Alright, kidnap me then."

"And when I fall into microsleep, we both die."

"That's alright."

Law sighed with a light chuckle. "Get out now, Peanut."

"Only when you come with me," she replied. "If anything would happen to you during the car ride, it would fall into my responsibility and I would damn myself then for have been letting a sleepless guy hitting the road. Irresponsible! Irresponsible! Irresponsible!"

Law tilted a bit around again to look at her. "Do you know the cruelest kidnap stories often starts with relatives and acquaintances?"

Her eyes returned to his and the way he was staring at her was indeed uncomfortable sinister. "I'm only a bit scared of you, so I'm fine."

Seeing her nonchalance appearance tickled another upward turn of his right mouth corner. "You're trusting me that much?"

Biting her tongue, she swayed her head to her shoulder while her eyes rolled briefly away. "Weeell, I wouldn't say _trust_. I just saw documentaries about you and they rate you as harmless."

"What if I wanted them to think I'm harmless?"

"Then..." Stuck for an answer she slightly pinched the bridge of her nose while her eyes were still tightly locked with his'. "No risk no fun..."

"And how should that attitude save you by the end?"

"This night has shaped me to new, and I'm ready to die anytime. In any case you're a monster, I'll be prepared for that." She moved her head with scanning eyes through the car to locate her bag, grabbing it as she found it by her feet, and then went for her cell phone that she turned on to film him. "And I'll take footage from the very beginning, that makes more cash."

Law squinted one eye by the white dazzling camera light and he leaned quietly back, staring against the windshield. "A monster, I see..." Thinking about it, he tried not to show any humorous thought. There had been a few women already that considered him as such, though different in context.

"Yeah, I imagined you to transform into something gruesome that allows you no communication with your fellow people anymore due to some lack of skills, _and_ I'm not talking about your _social_ skills but you'll be actually unable to speak the human language."

"Okay?"

"And Shachi and Penguin will try to care for you as friends, trying to maintain your existence while your behavior loses more on more of its human characteristics. But it will be a sad story about deprivation," she added and looked pensive to the side. "Hm... I think I gonna make a collage of this and call it 'The Metamorphosis'."

"I think you're too late with this idea."

"Damn it," she said disappointed with a finger snap and put the phone down. "I knew I've heard that somewhere already."

His reddish eyes stared at her silently as she looked at his side-profile, cocked only to the tiniest to her as his head rested against the seat.

That look had similes with a gazing psychopath. The exhausted eyes on that beaten face while he stared back at her in the yellow car light with some shadows hovering over him, molested her comfort. Feeling quite unsettled by that image, she leaned forward to him, re-positioning his head with both of her hands. As handsome as he was, his skin was kind of dry as she touched it the first time.

"What's that supposed to be?" Law asked as he let her do whatever she was doing there.

"Sorry, the light incidence from that angle doesn't flatter your face at all." Close-up, his condition looked even worse than she had thought. "God, I bet bullied people in jail look like you."

"Therefore that you're speaking highty mighty all day about manners and politeness, you're insulting me pretty often."

Without re-thinking, she pulled out a tissue from her bag and wiped the sloughs and still moistened blood from his face. "That only speaks of how rude you are, and among us two _you're_ Dr. Know-all."

"Speaks of how rude I am?" He repeated with a raised brow.

Moving her eyes back to him, she nodded and raised a brow as well. "Why should I be mean to someone for no reason?"

Closing his lids, he grinned slightly with a small laugh about her self-explaining tone. "Well, and what makes you caring for people like me then?"

"I think you're like an old loaf of bread. Dry and hard from the outside with a tiny soft spot on the inside that needs to be acknowledged soon before it dries as well."

"Maybe it's a deception I aim before I assail my victims."

"And when will be the time you assail Penguin and Shachi? Next year?" She put the tissue down and smiled sassily into his face. "I'm not scared of you Trafalgar. I mean, I _do_ would cast you as some creep for a movie, but else, scary? Nope."

"You know that everything you have been and are telling me's saved to my head and can and will be used against you."

"Okay?" she said, not getting his point.

"I don't know how often you told me now how scary I look."

"Uhm..." She mused a little just to realized, "a few times...?" Confessed it to herself, she felt stupid now for her prior sassy-talk. Quite unsure why she had claimed to be not scared for a moment, her eyes drifted awkwardly away from him as he pierced her with a mocking expression. "Yeah yeah it's okay, sometimes you _are_ scary."

"Your brain's really anesthetized what? You even just had said that a few minutes ago."

Staring back at him, she half-lidded her eyes. "Oh boy, are you proud of that? Being scary?"

"Would it be wrong if I am?"

Quinn sighed and leaned back. "Wrong is relative. But anyway, did you notice that our conversation is totally pointless? I guess this is because we're both tired but still sitting in this car in the middle of the night, refusing to sleep."

It indeed was pretty pointless, but he wouldn't deny his joy of having that pointless conversation with her. "Well, I actually would love to sleep, but something in my car doesn't allow me to."

"Hey, I didn't say you're not allowed to sleep, you're just not allowed to drive the car like this, "she corrected him.

He moved his eyes to the timer, checking how long they had been sitting in this car now, and then back to the blonde, who then gave him some insecure looks. "If you would've woken up earlier and let me leave from the very beginning, I would be home now."

Minimizing her eyesight, she looked at him in suspicion. "Home _now?_ How long have you been trying to wake me up?"

"Not that long, I just called you six times."

Quinn furrowed her brows. "What you are saying makes no sense, you would've been no more than half the way "

"The other time you've robbed from me, I was watching you."

Appall expanded over her. "You creep... don't mess with me..."

Law smiled slyly into her somewhat disgusted face. "Why not? Having a tired and powerless young blonde woman in my car tha-"

"Yuuuck! Stop that, you make me cringe, this is not funny!" Quinn shrieked. "And what's the point with 'blonde' anyway?"

He looked down and pressed his fist against his lips, trying to hold back his giggle. As she blushed with a grumpy face about his hideous talk, he looked back at her and said, "Miss Heady, I'm basically just telling you to be careful in a man's car. I could do anything to you right now, in fact, I can do anything to you in your apartment as well."

"What about me? I can be some psycho as well," she said.

"Psychopathy doesn't mean being physically able to conquer everyone."

"Huuuuh, you think I'm not strong enough to put you down?"

"You can prove me wrong," he responded amused.

She grinned and extended her half-balled fist, stretching up her thumb. "I've mastered thumb wrestling!"

He raised a brow to her response, asking himself why he was still surprised about anything that blonde was saying. He got to know her as a weirdo, and she probably would stay a weirdo. "Miss Heady, I'm a psycho," said he then as a last statement.

Still convinced about him being harmless, she drew her hand disappointed back and shook her head, saying, "nope nope nope." Realizing that they were just procrastinating inside the vehicle, she got up and opened the door, getting out and shifting the passenger seat back to its normal position. Without delay, she walked over to the driver side while Law's head followed her calmly as she passed the front of the car. Opening the car door then, she leaned a little down to look at him with both hands grasping the top frame while her forehead leaned against. "If it's up to me, we can stay here the whole night, Dr. Pseudo-psycho."

Law sighed. "I should've driven home and just leave you inside the car."

"Chance missed," she said. Talking about his home, she wondered where he even lived. Over two months of acquaintanceship and she knew only a crumble about that guy.

Stubborn how he was, he would have no problem to stay outside all night, but he knew he was not the only thick-headed person around. That _he_ was tired was already enough, but being the causer for that blonde enduring the pain of sleeplessness was not in his interest as he wanted to spare himself from any complaints, avoid providing her with a target; so he spoke out his defeat. "Alright." He turned the engine off and crawled to her surprise out of the car.

She had expected a longer discussion, so she looked after him quite baffled as he casually walked up to the entrance door of her apartment, the long discussion not occurring.

"Don't tell me you prefer spending time with me outside after all," he said when he saw her still rooted beside his car.

Quinn shook her head, running up to him. "Definitely not."

She rummaged for the keys in her bag, appearing a little helpless so that Law questioned the content. "What do women carry around anyway to have a big bag with them all the time?"

"First, I don't carry a big bag with me _all the time_ and would like to remind you, I had your Onigiri inside that bag today." Finding the keys, she unlocked the door while she replied in deadpan, "second, I don't know what other women carry, but I carry potatoes."

"That was just a normal question."

"No, you're stereotyping the female gender."

He followed her inside, getting upstairs to the second floor. "Don't you like it that I'm stereotyping women, or stereotyping _you_?"

"I have no existential issues, it's about women in general," she claimed.

"I think it's not reprehensible to point out characteristics you can find on one gender more commonly."

...

Law was in wonder with himself about what he was actually doing there. Never had he thought that he would ever enter this apartment without banging the brunette, it was almost uncomfortable strange.

As Quinn carefully unlocked the apartment door, both entering quietly, she heard the weak sounds of the TV across the hall. Shifting her eyes confused at the clock on the wall, which still struck something between four and five, and tip-toed in her socks to the living room, Quinn found Judy sleeping on the couch under the blanket.

She turned the device off before she walked back to Law with a wry smile and whispered, "okay, uhh, I didn't expect that. I'm gonna try waking Judy up now to make the couch free... You can wait in my room or else she would freak out if she sees you all of a sudden."

"If I have to." Speaking of her room; from all the times he had been to this apartment, her private space was the only spot in this house he had never seen before. And that he was entering a woman's bedroom without sleeping with her was even more strange than entering the apartment in general.

Getting inside then, the scent of paint confronted his nose instantly. It smelled more like an atelier than a bedroom to be honest, and a big part of it also looked like one. But he had imagined it either to be extremely kitschy or extremely untypical anyway, and seeing how the room was filled with framed canvas; brushes; various paints; and a lot of other paraphernalia; it was indeed untypical from the average he knew a woman's quarters was supposed to look - and he had seen many.

The room was not necessarily empty, but it still smelled like a naked place you rather work in than live. His eyes shifted over to her desk that was an unbelievable mess, made him questioning how she could organize herself in that chaos. As an artist it was maybe not uncommon to have a lot of stuff flying around, but for a teacher? Unexpected as he stood beside her desk, his eyes detected a black bra with velvet polka dots on her chair, lifted one of his brows in surprise.

That woman seemed to love polka dots; besides her umbrella, even her current covers were minimal and discreet polka dotted. He wouldn't be surprised when all her undergarment was in any kind of way dotted. Amused about that private piece of clothing left lying around, he carefully picked a shirt that lay close by and put it over the bra to cover its presence in case she would get in and noticed her inadvertence. Let's spare her the embarrassment, though he would have loved to see her reaction.

A second afterward, she indeed came in with a glass of water, and Law turned around with a slight startle. "Uhh, I'm sorry for letting you wait, I just woke her up and she said she's getting up in two minutes. Anyway, I've brought you something to drink."

"I think this makes me a bearable guest again?" he said, taking and eyeing the glass.

"Weeell yeah, somehow, bearable or not, I invited you, so for this time you're theoretically _my_ guest."

He smirked a little, saying with a hint of tease, "I see."

"Are you hungry? Wanna take a shower? Wanna anything else to drink? Painkillers maybe?"

He couldn't help but smile at her manners. "How attentive of you again, Miss Heady, but no thanks."

Quinn sat down on her bed and sighed out loudly. "What a night. I forgot my umbrella again..."

Taking place as well, he looked at her as she let herself smoothly fall onto the mattress on her side while her legs dangled from the edge. "If you would've let me drive home, you could sleep now."

She yawned into her hand. "How often do you wanna hear me say that I won't let you drive in that condition?"

"Maybe a few more times," he replied and her gaze moved up to him, idly and unamused. "You have... interesting weird mood shifts."

"Weird mood shifts?"

"Hating yet hosting me," he replied and drank from his glass.

"Hating is a little harsh."

"Your words."

Quinn pushed herself slowly up again, walking over to her desk drawer. "However, I see nothing wrong with hosting a guy after he had a rough night protecting his friend from thugs," she told casually without shame or misgiving. Taking out a little streaked kit, she sat back down next to him, unzipping it to reveal a little self-made first aid kit. "Speaking of hosting, I've got some antiseptic ointment and patches." She put two medical stripe-sets out and smiled cheekily into his face. "I've got those weird skin-colored neutral ones, _and_ those colorful printed ones for my students."

"You don't really ask me which one I prefer, do you?"

"Well, I think the skin-colored ones are really weird and- Oh oh and!" She rummaged through the kit and took a third set out. "These are my favorites!"

Yap, polka dots. He got it.

"Ouh, and I have these in animal shapes! My students love them, but they don't sell those anymore, so I only got this set here as my last. Well okay, uhm, I actually find those cute too, so I feel hard using them tehe; especially on fingers, since they are not water resistant and uhm, it would be quite a waste as you wash your hands every time. I mean, kids tend to do less, but-"

She stopped babbling as Law had taken the ointment himself and a cotton swab, making her pulling it out of his fingers again. "Uhh, let me do!"

"I think I'm able to treat myself," he claimed.

"Naah, it's easier when a second person does," Quinn said. "And don't think you don't need any help because you're a _doctor_ , because even a _doctor_ needs _doctors_. I mean, for example, a dentist is a _doctor_ as well, and you're surely not trained in that field. Uhm, it's not only because you're a doctor, this is, of course, a general rule, accepting help and stuff, but yeah, every-"

"Miss Heady, you're talking too much."

Instantly sealing her lips with a light blush, she said, "I'm sorry, I-I'll be quiet." Getting up from the bed as awkward silence lingered between them, or well, _she_ was making it awkward, Quinn said, "uhhh, wait here! I'll get a wet cloth to clean the blood stains."

She left the room and pulled the door behind her close. Her eyes swiped back into the living room as she got closer to get into the bathroom. Judy was still tightened in her sleep, there was no 'just two minutes' as she was lying in the same position when Quinn had seen her last. Well, what now?

Walking into the bathroom, she took a small towel and held it under the water stream. Perhaps she let him sleep in Judy's room then? It would be sure a positive surprise for her friend when she would walk in the next morning to find a sleeping Law Trafalgar in her bed.

As she got back to her room and opened the door, she found Law lying on _her_ bed with closed eyes and was... sleeping?

Well, she was not sure if he really was, so she walked over and whispered, "hey, Doc, don't sleep here."

No answer followed, so she carefully moved closer on both knees, leaning a little down to his face as her arms supported her, and she listened with one ear to his breathing. Quinn pushed herself up with a tamed smile of surprise, trying to control her giggle as a small and weak snore left Law's sleeping body. She never had expected him to be someone making any sounds during his sleep, no matter how little they were.

Taking the wet towel, she gently cleaned the blood from his face though and did some self-talk. "You know Trafalgar, I called you Dr. Umeboshi or Dr. Bread just as insults because you hate those. But actually, Umeboshi Onigiri's my favorite, and I have bread as good as every morning for breakfast. Except for Dr. Pervert and Dr. Jerk, you're not that bad. Dr. Robot is scary but okay. I think you're still super arrogant and your dark joke still got me cancer, and I don't like your sexist comments and how you treat women, but you're not... that bad."

For this time, his exhausted face seemed genuinely peaceful, different from when they had been with Shachi. A real sleeping Dr. Trafalgar looked _way_ different to an I-am-pretending-to-sleep one, it was almost... adorable. Eyeing him she somehow felt guilty and sorry for annoying him with her jokes as he had reached his limit of tiredness. He was a doctor and doctor shifts were told to be the worst, so he deserved the sleep. "Okay, I'll tell no more jokes, you don't find them funny anyway... I'm sorry for bothering you with them, Doctor." Tugging off one slim polka dotted patch, she placed it over the wound on his cheekbone after she had dabbed on some ointment. "You're a good friend, I like good friends."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Have you ever played Pirate Warriors 3? You can actually hear Law snoring there, it's so cute and funny haha._

 _I don't know how you guys are, but I know many people who just do pointless-talk when they're tired (me included). When I wrote that conversation in Law's car, I was indeed freaking tired as well, but couldn't sleep, so the pointless crap is reaaal lol (despite that Quinn's topics are often random anyway)._


	26. Anything going on

**26\. Anything going on**

Quinn had been gone the whole night, irking Judy's mind for hours that she had kept herself up as long as her body had allowed her to before she had fallen asleep on the couch. Waking up in the late morning, she groaned from the pain in her neck by sleeping like a cripple. Before she came back with all her senses, her eyes scanned the living room, seeing that nothing had really changed. But of course, Quinn might be the person to wake up early, but not when she was home late. _If_ she had returned yesterday.

Getting up from the couch, Judy walked over to her room to check if she was in there. She passed the entrance door and saw from the corner of her eye slightly something looking like her friend's boots she had been wearing yesterday. Relieved that Quinn seemed to had returned, Judy knocked on her door and opened it quietly to glance inside.

That was not Quinn.

She stood at the doorway with a blank expression, looking down on Law, who was sleeping on her friend's bed as the lights outside the bedroom shone a little inside. "What, the, fuck," Judy whispered.

She closed the door quietly and walked over to her room, glancing inside there as well to find her friend on her bed, also sleeping.

"What, the, fuck," Judy said again.

Quietly, she moved up to her snoozing friend, calling her in a whisper. "Hey, Quinn." As she didn't react, she leaned on her knees down to the mattress and moved closer on her fours. "Quinn."

"...hm?" the sleeping girl mumbled.

"When did you come home last night?"

"...hm?"

"Why's Law in your room?"

"Six more minutes..."

"Qui- why six?" Judy wondered since people tended to ask in intervals of five.

Quinn opened her exhausted eyes and stared at her with a cold straight expression, moving no muscle from the spot. "You really want me to explain my algorithm now?"

"Yeah?" Judy replied a little awkwardly. But as that was actually unimportant, she continued immediately with the next question. "You didn't return before two, right?"

Instantly, Quinn had dozed off again before she could even listen to her. The brunette sighed and pushed herself up again. At least she seemed alright, but that Law was in her bedroom still mystified her.

Judy got back to the living room, sitting at the dining table and tried to figure out what could have happened yesterday that the next morning turned out like that. She still got in her head that Quinn disliked Law in some kind of way, though not as much as she claimed. She was a person, who acted against her pride, always helping others even she considered them as annoying. So that was not the mysterious part but rather why they had come back together in general. Hadn't she had her date with Sabo then?

* * *

Law had said her room smelled like an atelier, but as he woke up in the afternoon, he could note the feminine scent of her bed. It was sweet, not specific to be able to name it, but enough to call it kitschy (he couldn't stop connecting her to that). As he wanted to check the time by lifting his arm for a look on his watch, he saw that he wasn't wearing it. Pushing up his torso in the dark room, Law detected the item on her messy desk and grabbed it, putting it back around his wrist. _How attentive again_ , he thought as the blonde seemed to have removed it during his sleep. She had pushed the thick curtains close so that only a slight ray of light shone inside through a small gap.

However, it was already 3pm, he rarely passed his six-hours sleep and then not around ten hours. Surprised about himself, Law slumped back to the mattress and yawned a little into his hand. That was another way to start the day, being somewhat well-rested; strange to him.

He pulled his pager out and checked on it, seeing that he, fortunately, hadn't missed anything. Later he would have to return to work, but right now he was too lazy to get up. His eyes pointed to the ceiling as he was relaxing on her bed, one foot still hanging to ground.

Law felt somewhat... awkward.

It hadn't been in his intentions to fall asleep where he was now, but his tiredness had dominated that he couldn't even remember when he had actually laid down and closed his eyes. Now, not that it was only entering a woman's bedroom without sleeping with her, no, he had been sleeping _in_ her bed without sleeping with her. Ten hours straight. And the strangest thing of all, he was still there.

He gave off a small sigh before he finally decided to get out of the room. Three in the afternoon was a ridiculous time to get up. Being more laid-back was only allowed when he was aware of it, otherwise, it felt like a great time waste. As he walked through the hall, casually with his hands nestled in his trousers' pockets, the brunette on the couch noticed him and looked away from her notebook screen.

"Ah Law, good morning," she greeted him. "I didn't know you stayed overnight, how you doing?"

"Some occurrence," Law said while his eyes scanned briefly through the room, seeing that the other girl was not around yet but probably still sleeping in her friend's bed.

"Oh, okay?" Judy replied with a wondrous and curious face. "What occurrence? You look pretty done."

He didn't get into her question but pointed with his head to the bathroom. "You don't mind when I use the bathroom?"

"Uh, sure you can," she replied with a small smile. As he walked inside, her gaze followed him, eyeing his appearance from head to toe. Why was he injured?

In the bathroom, Law hadn't thought much when he stepped to the sink and looked into the mirror. His eyes stood blank for a moment as he faced himself with those polka dotted patches; blue-orange; white-red; yellow-black. She really _had_ to use those, and then in so many color combinations.

Realizing that the blonde had treated his wounds during his sleep turned his mouth corners slightly upward. She was still entertaining, and she still managed to surprise him. He washed his hands and rinsed out his mouth before he left the bathroom again.

Stepping outside, Judy eyed his face carefully. "Seriously Law, you look awful, what happened?"

He looked at her lazily and grabbed his stiff neck with one hand, stretching it a little. "There was a fight last night, nothing serious."

"A fight? That sounds awful," she said and then added in realization a shocked, "wait, was Quinn there too?!"

"Don't worry, she didn't get into any fight. She just had been with us before."

Surprised by his words, she questioned him. "Oh, uhm, with you?"

"With Shachi. We bumped into each other."

"So, you drove her home, right? When did you arrive?"

"Something between four and five."

"I see..." Glancing back at Law, she tried to break the little awkwardness she felt. "You want coffee?" Of course, she never had been a good host like Quinn was, but feeling shy around a guy was also new to herself. It was even weirder when she received no response but saw him staring holes into space. He didn't really look that pensive but absent so that she wondered where his mind was. "Law?"

His eyes moved back to her and she asked him again. "I," said he, but paused for a second before he agreed on a coffee. "Yeah."

Judy got up to the coffee machine and filled a cup. "It's been a while that you've been here." (At least when she was sober)

He sat down at the dining table, sideways with crossed legs while one arm rested on the light wooden surface. "Yeah, I've been busy nowadays."

She carried the hot cup over and placed it in front of him. "Work?"

"Yeah."

"Me too," Judy said with a chuckle. "I don't think I'm that exhausted like you as a doctor, but relaxing when your roommate's lively almost 24/7 around you is kinda hard."

His eyes drifted swiftly away with a twitching brow. "Yeah, your roommate can be quite annoying."

"Ah, don't think I'm talking bad behind her back, she knows what I think," she noted.

"Don't worry, I don't."

"Quinn has treated your wounds, huh?" Judy got back to the couch, taking her notebook on her lap. Before he had woken up, interrupting her, Judy was checking the bills for the current ending month. She wasn't sure how to act in front of him; if she should pay him full attention or casually continue what she had been doing before. She neither wanted to be too obtrusive nor too ignorant.

Law didn't care though and turned to the table, eyeing the coffee in front of him. "Looks like. I was asleep, otherwise I would've chosen other patches."

"Must be embarrassing for a grown man," she joked a little. "I can give you neutral ones if you want."

Embarrassing. Maybe. But he also already had walked around with that polka dotted and girly umbrella, so it was not a big deal. "No, it's fine, thanks."

"Oh, okay." She knew he was a quiet guy who said not much, and it annoyed her that she hadn't broken that wall between them yet. Everything she knew about him; birthday; height; dislike food; even his past work shifts; she knew it through Quinn. "Did you at least sleep well?"

"I guess enough to survive the day," he replied, almost bored sounding.

Should she small talk? What was her friend doing? How did she manage to get any personal information out of him without being even interested in him? "Do you have to head to work later?"

He checked on his watch. "Yeah, in two hours."

"Law?" Judy began. "Can I ask you something?"

His eyes moved back to her. "Just ask."

"You and Quinn..." She felt weird asking it, it was just a presumption from what she had observed, but if she wouldn't ask, she wouldn't get any smarter. "Is there anything going on?"

Law's brow rose in surprise. "How come you ask?"

"Well... I don't know, you seem..." she said with a somewhat timid smile.

Something between him and the blonde? It had been a few times now that she managed to make him behaving or thinking different from usual, but he hadn't thought it was to an extent that could be detected by others. He guessed the only thing he would have left for her was that she was blessed with a pretty face and that her physical features seemed ridiculous. He would be lying when he asserted that he had never imagined sleeping with her; he _had_ quite a few times. But else? She _was_ amusing, she _was_ cute, he _did_ enjoy her company; but-

"Law?" Judy looked into his absence.

His eyes got back and he answered, "no, there's nothing," and sipped his coffee then.

The brunette slowly looked away, inhaling quietly. "Okay?"

No, there was nothing and she didn't seem to believe it. "You don't really think that your friend's getting closer to a guy while dating another?"

Shocked, she looked back and shook her head frantically. "No, of course not."

"Why are you asking then?" Law was somewhat annoyed by her question.

"I was just... uhm, curious," she claimed, looking insecure back to her screen.

"Judy." Law was somewhat annoyed about her behavior.

She looked back at him. "Y-yeah?"

"What do you want?" He was somewhat annoyed with himself.

"Excuse me?" Her eyes fell to perplexity as she didn't get his point.

"You want me to fuck you?" He was annoyed that he had to prove her that there was nothing.

"I-I...," Judy stuck for words and glared at him with big confused eyes. The last time they had slept with each other was four weeks ago.

He looked at her with a straight and rather cold expression. "I've told you, this is nothing serious, right?"

"Of course not," was her response like it's a matter of fact while she was trying to hold eye contact with his icy gaze. She also tried to loosen the tension with a small laugh. "I don't have time for anything serious myself anyway."

He put the cup down and got up from the chair, moving towards her on the couch. Their eyes locked intensely and Judy's heart began to push its pace as he leaned down to her, made her set the notebook aside without loosing from him.

And Law was annoyed that he had to prove himself that he didn't give a fuck about the blonde.

His hand grasped around her leg and moved up to her hips, his thumb slipped underneath the fabric of her panties. He smirked at her. "Well, me neither."

They entangled in a heated kiss and he shifted her morning coat and the top underneath from her shoulder to trail hungry kisses down her neck, sucking on her while his thigh pressed against her crotch. Blushing, Judy glided her hands under his shirt, running them up his muscular back to leave it exposed while she already committed to her arousal.

"Wh-wh-what are you people doing...?!" Quinn exclaimed on the other end of the room, covering her eyes with one hand. "Please not on the couch, I still wanna sit there...!"

The two stopped, giving off low sighs. Straightening again, Judy said, "it's okay Quinn, you can open your eyes." That wouldn't have been the best place to make out anyway when someone else was next door.

Quinn looked at them, furrowing her brows uncomfortably in her embarrassment. "I mean, I-I can give you two space if you want, but _please_ warn me beforehand."

"Geez, don't act so uptight girl, nothing happened."

"Because I could stop it in time."

Law got up from the couch. "I'm leaving now."

As he passed the blonde, she turned after him. "Already?"

"Yeah, have to get home before I head to work," he said and slipped into his shoes. He would have the time for a quicky, it's been a while that he had slept with any woman since he found no time or energy. For now though, he felt like leaving. Maybe next time. As he opened the door, having their eyes fixed on him, he stopped for a moment and tilted his head. "And thank you, Miss Heady."

She looked at him, clueless. "Hm?"

"For those kitschy patches," he said nonchalantly before he left.

As he was gone and the door closed, Quinn turned around to her friend. "Sorry, I really didn't want to interrupt you two, but well... the living room...," she told with a wry smile while her eyes drifted to the side.

Judy's voice became more serious. "Why didn't you call me back last night?"

"Huh?"

"Do you know how often I had called you?"

Seeing her unpleased face, Quinn's mouth corners pointed down. She was uncertain and not prepared for Judy's telling-off. "N-no...?"

Judy sighed out audibly and grabbed her phone, checking her calling history. " _16_ times," she read out loud.

Looked like Quinn had turned the sound off yesterday as she couldn't remember that it had sounded. Feeling bad about it, she scratched her cheek. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't pay my phone attention..."

"I was about to call the police, Quinn! Did you know how worried I was?!" Judy stated with appalled expression.

"I'm sorry, please don't be mad at me..."

She rolled her eyes to the side before she stared somewhat furious back at her. "I've been waiting the _whole night_ and you didn't check your phone once?!"

Quinn shook her head with guilt. "I'm sorry..."

"I heard from Law there was a fight, what happened? How did you get there?"

She bit her tongue and tried to explain her reason that suddenly seemed so irresponsible. "Uhm, I was, after I had met Sabo, at Shachis place and Law happened to be there too. Penguin was at work and got into a fight with some thugs, texting Shachi, and we drove there..."

"You went with them?" Judy said, recalling Law's condition in her head. "Are you stupid? This was not your business, did you know that something could've happened to you?"

"B-but I was worried about Penguin, and and and, I dunno, I didn't want to stay back clueless, and Penguin, h-he was terribly wounded and the ambulance took him...! We later went with Law to the hospital and waited for the two to be finish..."

"Quinn, you..." Judy sighed again and pressed her forehead into her palm as she had no words left.

"I'm so sorry, please don't be mad at me..." Quinn said, added awkwardly with a crooked smile, "I-I brought Trafalgar with me...! Tada...!" But as she saw that this did not comfort her friend at all, she clasped her hands together with arched lips, bowing a little to her. "I'm sorry..."

Judy ran her hand through her hair and slumped against the couch with a stressed face, staring to the kitchen across. "Next time, just call me."

"Yes, ma'am..." she said, still in her small bow.

"I'm serious, Quinn."

"I will, I promise..." Quinn claimed and carefully looked back at her, seeing her little mad face. "T-Trafalgar...?"

"Don't use that as an apology when you've interrupted us anyway."

She straightened. "Uhhh, I'm sorry, but you know, the couch's really hard to clean."

Judy tried to relax the tension in her voice. "What's with Penguin? Is he alright?"

The suspension between them was gone in a switch. "Ah yeah, Law said everything's okay! I wanted to visit him today in the hospital."

"On your lazy Sunday?"

Quinn grinned with some nods. "Of course! You come too?"

"Sure."

* * *

As a doctor in a hospital, he was not certainly spared to work on Sundays. He hadn't had a day off for weeks, but the ten hours sleep last night made everything quite manageable again. Hanging out in the staff room, he took his last gulps from the plastic cup before he threw it into the trash can. Today was one of those less demanding, almost boring and annoying days where he wasn't busy as a surgeon. This hospital should better create more job ads for general practitioners. Law only took the position because Dr. Dillan somehow had managed to convince him, and his salary was raised, though he was not the person to spend much money. His most expensive investment was probably his car and his apartment. The rest of his money summed up on his bank account, which he now and then spent on food and clothes, but not enough to consider it as big expenses. And he sometimes lent money to his two companions; those were probably the biggest gaps, but he didn't make the effort to remind them to pay him back. He didn't know anyway where to spend all his money on.

Anyway. Standing in front of the water dispenser, one of his coworkers stepped from behind. "Ah Dr. Trafalgar, sorry but can I..." The male nurse pointed to the device as Law turned around to shoot him a neutral expression, which the guy interpreted rather as 'I-kill-you'. Without a word, Law walked away and the guy looked over to his colleague silently, just in order to talk bad behind the young doctors back later when he was gone.

Behind his back or not, Law was well aware of their complaints. The favorites of the elder was 'just because he's a great surgeon, he had no right to act like a respectless little brat'. He didn't care though. Law didn't need them to like him; his job was his job, and his private life was his private life in which now more than just Penguin and Shachi were involved.

Standing in front of Penguin's room, he heard a handful of noisy voices behind the door. He opened it and glanced inside, seeing besides the wounded guy on the bed, Shachi, the brunette, and the blonde.

"Ah Law," Penguin said as he saw him first, entering the room.

The other turned around to the doctor as well, Shachi grinning as he saw the polka dots on his face. "What's with those patches?"

"Looks cute," his mate commented also teasingly.

Quinn darted her narrowed eyes to the two. "Hey, those are really cute!"

They giggled about the silly look of playful patches on his dead serious face, agreeing with her quite sarcastically, "yeah, they are."

Judy half-lidded her eyes about their stupid behavior, commenting flatly from the side, "those are Quinn's."

Silence.

"Quinn's?" Penguin repeated awkwardly while the redhead next to him did an equal expression. "Oh, uhh, those are really cute..."

Law ignored that stupid, and for them embarrassed moment and focused the guy on the bed. "Are you alright?"

"Ah yeah, I feel much better today!" Penguin told and lifted his hand a little to show the Onigiri he was holding. Next to him was a little box with a few more, each one wrapped in cling film in order to not stick together. "Quinn made me Onigiris, those give me energy!"

"Naaaaw!" Flattered by his words, she hugged him from the side with a big smile, almost face to face, what got him blushing in joy.

Shachi threw his mate a warning face, talking soundless that only Penguin could read from his lips 'hold on or I'm gonna break your other arm' while a dark and annoyed aura full of jealousy gathered around him. The hugged guy didn't care though and grinned even wider at him, responding to the hug more by making another compliment, causing Quinn to press her cheek against his.

"Naaaaw, you're so sweet Penguin!" she squealed a little. "You're _a_ sweet penguin!"

Relishing the jealousy of the redhead, Penguin looked over to him, and without lifting his left arm but keep it on the bed to his side to stay undetected, he thrust his thumb between index and middle finger as his hand was curled to a fist.

The freaking fig sign, he was giving him the freaking fig sign and shamelessly wiggled with his thumb. Shachi returned a 'you're dead to me look' - He thought the world to be unfair once again since he had given her compliments about her Onigiris before him.

Law was not oblivious, but he tried to ignore the hassle between his two companions, how they battled for the attention and praise from that blonde. He thought it was too much from her side anyway, who the hell hugged someone like that when receiving a compliment? That was surely just in connection with his nickname that made her squeal. Anyway... "I've heard your talking through the door, you're pretty loud in a hospital."

The group looked at him like a scolded group of children, apologizing in choir, "we're sorry."

Judy smirked a little and wriggled with her brows. "Quinn just got embarrassed when we asked her about her dates."

Law looked at her lazily but inquiring.

Nodding, Penguin asked with a curious smile, "Law, when is it appropriate to kiss while dating?"

Shachi looked over to him. "Ehh, Law's never dating, why do you ask _him_?"

"Well, I don't date, but I can say, guys should try at least on the third date or else they are not interested," the doctor stated calmly.

"What if they don't want to be too pushy and hold back?" Penguin questioned.

Embarrassed about the subject, Quinn tried to make them stop. "Meeh guys, enough about that. Hey, how long will it take until he can leave the hospital?"

Ignoring her question, Judy rested her hands on her hips, making humming sounds before she answered to Penguin's question, "I think they're not brave enough then."

Quinn's cheeks turned pink and a little to annoyance. "I don't wanna kiss anyone so soon...! W _hen's he ready to leave?!_ "

"But you like him, don't you?" said Judy.

She looked down and was too shy to answer. "I-I... well..."

"A high-rank guy from the revolutionaries, how can you say no?" Shachi asked rhetorically, obvious overshadowing his envy.

His mate joined him with the same attitude. "Yeah, how can a girl say no?"

Quinn smiled a little and pushed the tips of her index finger together. "Yeah, how... tehe."

"Quinn's so cute when she's in love," Judy said with hints of mockery.

"I'm not in love...!" she claimed while the shades on her face got stronger. "And can someone please answer my question now?!"

Law got the group's attention pretty soon as he said, "I have to agree with Judy about the 'not brave' thing." Whatever he said, it sounded so disinterested and though, the group was quite curious about his opinion about _such_ topic. "When a guy's serious with you, he'll hold back the first two dates, but tries to approach you the third date. If he doesn't, he's probably not interested enough or a coward."

"Eh, how should _you_ know?" As interesting it was to hear his opinion, Quinn looked at him with lowered lids as she found it weird to hear stats from someone like him.

"Observation," he replied dryly. "Of course this is no guarantee, just the average way of the male genders behavior."

"To your observation," she remarked since he sounded like his words were a matter of fact.

"Observation and logical conclusion."

Shachi folded his arms and rubbed his chin. "Hm... it does sound right."

"Law's good in calculating people's behavior and common habits," Penguin claimed with a smile.

 _Yeah. Stereotyping_ , was Quinn's thought.

"Sometimes a hidden signal from one side, most commonly the female side, will help to move the wanted process. So instead of squealing like a teenager around, you should stop being a coward and give your date a sign."

She looked at him with small eyes, shaking her head in little confusion. "How come you talk about such emotional stuff like it's some math?"

"Because it _is_ like some math."

"Wow Cap, slow down," Shachi said, pointing his open palms at him.

Penguin nodded in agreement with Shachi, carrying a suiting smile to their reaction of his friend's ridiculous words. "Love and emotions are reaaaally complicated things."

"Yeah, there's a reason why you talk about objectively and subjectively," Judy added.

He showed himself unimpressed by their responses. "There are repeating patterns. If you know a person well, you can pre-calculate their action, in fact, you often don't even need to know the person but only stories about them to predict their fellow action. And the reason for that is because the human mind works in common calculable patterns."

"There we go, Dr. Robot."

"So, do you think that this with her and Sabo will work?" Judy asked.

"From her side, yes. From his side, I don't know, I have no clue about him."

"Ohh! You guys need to meet him!" Quinn said.

Her friend looked at her with another teasing smile. "Ooh, I really wanted to meet him once, seeing what type of guy you're into."

"I told you enough."

"Yeah, but in persona is different right?" Judy said with a slight eye roll. "I remember him to be a cutie."

"Yeah tehe... Judy...!"

"What? Just saying."

Quinn looked to the bed. " _When Penguin's able leave the hospital_ , we can all meet up."

"Yeah, it would be cool to meet that guy," Penguin said monotonously.

"Yeah. Totally. Sabo the revolutionary," Shachi joined him and they started to list all the positive information they knew about him. Flat, dull and full of... envy.

"High rank."

"Kind."

"Polite."

"Sense of humor."

"Cool big brother."

"Cute."

"Sabo."

The group looked at them and it was just a what-the-fuck moment as silent lingered in the air for seconds. Quinn took a short deep breath, loosening the awkwardness with a weird smile and a question. "Uhm yeah, I'm gonna get something to drink, you come with me, Judy?"

"Sure, I'm thirsty too," the brunette responded.

Quinn looked at the others, asking if they wanted anything, but received declines. The two women left then.

Looking at the door even seconds later after they were gone, Penguin didn't move his eyes away as he said, "Shachi."

And Shachi also didn't. "Yeah?"

"Let's just give up."

"Bros over hoes."

They two give each other their fist while their eyes still stood in place.

"Geez, you guys." Law looked on his watch and stuffed the hand back in the pocket of his white gown. "I'm back to work." Before he left he turned to the little desk next to Penguin's bed, staring at the box with Onigiris. Walking up to it, he grabbed one before he was leaving again.

"H-hey, those are mine!" Penguin said, lifting and reaching out his hand.

Law tilted his head a little back and looked at him. "She made too many anyway."

...

Walking through the corridors of the hospital, Law tugged the plastic off the riceball, taking a bite with hope that it wasn't Umeboshi he had picked. Though he didn't move a muscle in his face, great relief got him as it were Shiitake mushrooms he tasted. Calmly, he was eating it, checking on his watch how much of his break was left, which was certainly around fifteen minutes. When he slowly lowered his hand again, he stopped right in the way as his eyes locked with the blue orbs from before.

Quinn was standing alone in front of the bathroom. Awkward silence followed while her gaze moved slowly down to the Onigiri in his hand. She looked back at him with a blank expression. "I put lots of sesame oil in there."

"I know."

"You still eat it?"

"I'm hungry."

"Okay."

Deciding to leave the flat word exchange, Law continued to move and passed her while her face was following him casually.

"You look much better today, Doctor. Less tired," Quinn said and he stopped, turning around. "Where's your surgeon outfit by the way?" It's been a while that she had seen him in that white coat, which he wore over a black button-up shirt and a gray tie. That tie was unusual, but she somehow liked it.

"I put it off because the color doesn't match my skin tone," he responded in deadpan.

A wry smile pulled her lips. "Well, I didn't lie back then."

"Why are you standing here all alone anyway?"

"Judy's in the bathroom," said she and pointed with her eyes and thumb to the door. She didn't really moved them back to him though but rather down to the floor. "Uhh, Trafalgar..." And she sounded somewhat shy all of a sudden. "Thank you for driving me home yesterday."

It was like the first time she had spoken out her gratitude. "If that took you all your pride to say it, you can also get hold of yourself and show up for an echocardiography."

She placed her index finger in front of her lips. "Psst, back off Doctor. One at a time."

Looking back at his watch, he said, "I still got time now."

"You just wanna see me topless, no no, see ya."

Law raised a brow and looked into her slight disgusted and annoyed face. "If I wanna see you topless so badly, I would try different."

Cringing to his words, she waved with her hand and already lost eye contact. "See ya."

A little amused, he continued his way back to the office with the half-eaten Onigiri and a lazy smile. It was calm in the hospital, quite peaceful compared to its actual sinister vibe when the occupation was missed. At the end of the corridor was a window that led to a fire escape. It was the only source of natural lights that shone inside as the afternoon sun brightened the day clearly.

Quinn Heady was a weird type of person; cheerful, annoying, sporty, caring. If you wouldn't know her you would wonder how this person could be an elementary school _teacher_ as she appeared at the first glance like someone with no authority and responsibility. Maybe it was her quirky and innocent personality that made her getting along with children very well. However, Law never had a real thing for any woman since he had started to sleep around occasionally. Pretty faces, nice bodies, good sex, period. That blonde was inexperienced, conservative, full of life and lame jokes; if it wasn't her outer appearance, she was anything but someone he would ever have the slightest thing left for.

But he had.

He opened the office door and walked in while some of his coworkers tried to hide their confused stares at him. Law sat down casually on his desk and finished the Onigiri, balling the cling film that he then threw into the trash can. He put his feet up and leaned comfortably and relaxed to his chair, glancing once more on his watch before his eyes wandered into space while his little sly smile brought confusion.

She became his weird little crush.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** This update took a little longer since I didn't find the time or the chance to proofread it. My notebook's broken for months now and I can only write on my smartphone or on my brother's computer if he's not using it himself ;(_

 _ **Me** \- I, too, am not a big fan of tough and vulgar OC's, who always have a quick-witted and snappy answer ready. And yes, also not those super sweet innocent angels xD I think Quinn is a person you can either adore or find annoying, but I'm okay with that because nobody's perfect :D Very glad she's likable for some readers :)_

 _ **Mei** \- " 22-B2 and 23-A1" These are AO classifications, used by physicians worldwide to determine skeletal trauma levels and location. If there's some Law freak, there surely will be a video haha. I think the human body got a phase where you're so sleepy that it shoots out all your left energy, making you extremely hyperactive and stupid, before you get super tired xD_

 _ **Sarge1130** \- I love doctor mode Law too :)! I really want to include more of those in the fic, since it's his profession here; it's also fun to write. I just checked the sleeping scene on YT again but nope, it's just Usopp we hear haha._

 _ **Apple Bloom & YukikoKitamure66** \- Yeah, my pace is quite slow, but I can't wait to give them more moments haha. At least he realized now, he got a crush on her lol_


	27. Sweet Company

**27\. Sweet company**

A major struggle women had to deal with was probably the moment when they had to get dressed for any event but couldn't find the right outfit. Quinn stood in front of the mirror and eyed herself up and down. It had been her fourth outfit now she was trying and her grumpy face expressed her dissatisfaction well as she fiddled on her skirt, checking the final look. Walking back to her closet, she scanned for any other outfit she could change into or any item that matched her current outfit better. _I need to go shopping again..._

The last time she really had gone shopping for clothes was several months ago, but that was because Judy never got the time and was more of an online shopper. Going alone was boring, but she missed girl friends to really do a tour through boutiques.

For her date, Quinn wanted to wear a skirt, but according to the clock that now gave her only half an hour to get ready, she had to give up. Tugging off the clothes with a tired sigh, she grabbed her jeans, a gray shirt, and her green parka. "Well, then more sporty..."

She kept her eyes to the mirror and checked on her hair quietly before she gave off another annoyed sigh, slumping down to her bed. First it was not the cute outfit she wanted; second, her hair didn't stand in place. Dates supposed to be relaxing and nice, why was she breaking her head for something so trivial anyway? Looking good for a guy... Sabo didn't seem to be someone, who cared about it.

Quinn rolled on her stomach and lay with her face to the mattress, warbling like a tortured animal.

 _"Today I don't feel like doing anything..._

 _I just wanna lay in my bed..."_

Her face rolled to the side and she stared holes into space. Today was her third date with Sabo and going after Law's theory, the right time to kiss. The question if she _wanted_ to kiss him was unnecessary because, even when she had stated not to, Quinn was totally hypnotized by that guy. Only the thought of them kissing made her grinning like an idiot on crack. She turned to the side and curled her body, biting the sleeve of her parka while she was trying not to squeal. _Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!_

Sabo was perfect in any way; he was exactly what she had ever imagined her boyfriend to be; so much that she now and then questioned if he was even real, or where the hook was. There was always a hook, right? Things couldn't be perfect in real life. But as much as she was searching for one, she couldn't locate any flaws.

Quinn wondered what was in Sabo's mind. Why he exactly had chosen to join the Revolutionaries; what his life was before; where he got the scar from; who his parents were. Luffy always talked about home, like he was living with them instead with his real family (alone wasn't an option for someone that traveled a lot). She also wondered how long he would stay in town when things with them worked out well. And she wondered what he liked about her that he even had asked her out. Quinn had been asking him so much, but she had let out the basic information so far.

However. She pushed herself up and hopped from the bed with a smile. To hide her bad hair day, a red beanie over her head should cover it and she glanced once more into the mirror before she went outside her room. _Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Saaaboooo_ , she chanted playfully in her head while she put her sneakers on.

Today was going to be a good day. First, they were going to her favorite sushi bar, then to the movie theater, and then she was going to give him the signal. Perfect.

* * *

Penguin could leave the hospital after a few days and now had to rest at home in his bed. Three days were left until May would start; when the weather stayed continuously nice; but he had the bad luck to stay in bed with arm and rib fractures. His roommate would leave for work in 20 minutes, but both seemed quite exhausted as they said almost nothing during their company. Penguin was lying in his bed and stared ahead while Shachi sat on the carpet next to his legs, hanging with his arm over the mattress and stared into the opposite direction. The two sighed synchronously.

"Get well soon, Pen."

"Yo."

Silence.

And they sighed again.

Shachi straightened and looked at his mate. "Seriously, I need my wingman in the bar."

"What about your affair with this one chick back then?" Penguin asked.

"Naah, we don't see each other anymore since last month ended. She was way too clingy," he replied and cringed a little by the thought. "And since Quinn's into this Sabo-guy and Judy has something with Law-"

"Wait, do you compare Quinn with your affair?" Penguin queried to what Shachi just glared at him quietly with a few blinks. The guy on the bed shook his head. "Oh man Shachi, how can you? Quinn's _wife-material._ " The thought of how caring she was made her anything but just a hookup.

"And what about Judy?"

Penguin looked up with an uncertain face. "Judy is... hm... I don't wanna sound mean but she seemed very open, _less_ wife-material."

"Yeah, she's what you would rather call a fuckbuddy."

"Don't even try," Penguin said and shot the redhead a sharp look. "Sleeping with the same girl as your bro is a no-go."

Shachi gritted his teeth and quirked the right side of his upper lip. "Geez man, you make me sound like a total retarded pervert." He put his elbow back on the mattress and settled his chin into his hand, huffing. "She's nice, but seems unapproachable anyway."

"Ah yeah, she's more drawn to Law's type, way over our league," Penguin said and sighed out one more, loudly. "Maybe when Quinn's not dating this Sabo-guy anymore..."

Shachi darted at him appalled. "Ehh? Did you just wish them bad luck?!"

"What? I never said that!" Penguin claimed. "I said, _if_ it happens.'

"That's practically the same!"

"You have no right to scold me, you're the same!"

"But you as the 'moralizer' between us," he said and leaned against the wall, folding his arms.

"Geez dude, I'm just a man too," he defended and rolled his eye away. "What are you doing here anyway? Get lost to ya work."

Shachi lisped with lower voice as air quote, " _wife-material_."

The two stopped talking to each other and stared annoyed away. It remained like that for a minute.

Penguin broke it with, "bros over hoes?"

"Bros over hoes."

"Can you imagine to marry?"

Shachi looked at him, surprised by the random question. "Why are you asking?"

"Well, a few more years and we're in our 30's. Back then I always said I'll get married before I turn 30."

"Well, I remember that Law and I once had said when we were younger, we'll never get married," Shachi told and laughed a little about the memory.

His mate snorted by the thought of Law in a serious relationship. "Before you questioned if he'll get married, first questioned if he'll ever willing to have a girlfriend."

The redhead grinned. "Worst boyfriend ever."

"Imagine he would be like 'anniversary? It's just one of 365 other days'," Penguin said.

"Or his girlfriend would bomb him with calls and text messages, and he's just like 'yeah. Okay. Yes. Don't annoy me. I'm working.' Worst partner award goes to Law Trafalgar."

"And he'd be like 'cuddling? What is that?', or 'you wanna get married? Okay. Married.'"

Shachi laughed. "Right, just dry on the spot. Imagine his own child would cry every time he takes it into his arms. Law as a father."

"Law as a _boyfriend_." Penguin ridiculed the fact with giggles.

The two continued to laugh, Penguin with some pain, until they stood in silence with relaxed sighs, staring into space again with amused gazes. The clock was ticking and their expression didn't faint.

"Wow Pen, I feel bad talking about him like that."

"Me too."

* * *

Sabo looked at the little shop Quinn and he was standing in front. "So, this is your favorite sushi bar, huh?"

It looked even smaller than her favorite café, with only two tables and a long bar table along the wall, which he could see through the big windows on both sides of the entrance door. The shop sign was glowing in a bright tomato red before the black painted building, saying plainly 'SUSHI!'.

"I know, I know, this looks pretty small and there aren't people inside yet, and the name's not really creative. _But!_ Believe me, this is the best Sushi man in town, and from evening to night, it's super full!" Quinn claimed. "...And it just states what it sells!"

He smiled at her and began to walk to the door where the cheapish written 'open' sign was hanging behind the little door window. "Then let's go."

She followed him inside, stepping on polished marble. The floor was probably the fanciest-looking thing regarding its interior as the wall was dressed with old wooden panels while the furniture looked rather improvised from the junk market.

The two sat down on a table, occupy-able for four, and Quinn took the menu. "I mean, really! Don't be undeterred by its poor look, it's reaaaally good here! I promise!'

He leaned his face into his palm and gave her a soft eye smile. "You know that I don't care about a fancy ambiance, I trust your taste in food."

Hiding her face as she looked down at the menu, she blushed lightly and couldn't stop smiling. "Uhmm thank you... tehe."

Sabo folded his arms on the table and leaned forward to look into her face more closely with a bright chuckle. "Relax."

His face was suddenly close to eye level, she nodded weirdly while she couldn't return a look due to some shyness _. Close = Kiss. Ahh, not in a restaurant...! Ouh shut your mind girl! You're gonna give him the signal later!_ She straightened in a jerk and looked into the menu, trying to be more confident and distracted herself from her emotional spiel. "You have to try the fried sushi! It's the king of the menu! Oh, and the sauce they serve to is its queen! And it's vegan! I mean, uhh not that you care, but I'm just saying, it's really good! Oh oh! The grilled fish is delicious as well, I looove it; uhm well, okay, I love everything on the menu, except for the meat but fish, but that's because I'm pescetarian. I bet it's good too! It at least smells super nice!"

He stared at her quietly, watching her hype until she noticed how she was the only one talking and stopped immediately in embarrassment. "I'm sorry... I-I'll be quiet. I'm sorry."

"You're cute."

Quinn's eyes looked at him as they grew, her cheeks increasing in color again. She looked away with a shy laugh and tried not to ride further on his statement. "Uhh, do you already know what you want?"

He looked down to the menu, scanning the selection briefly. "Hm... I guess I eat anything you recommend. Just order."

"Ohh, I recommend everything except for meat!"

"Well, then let's try everything except for meat."

Jaw-dropping she glanced over to his carefree face. "What the... You can eat that all?"

He grinned. "The question would be rather, can _we_ eat that all?"

Yes, again, Sabo was perfect in any way. His open-minded and adventurous attitude belonged to everything Quinn had thought her dream guy to have. She returned a broad grin and said, "I would say, we order everything _twice_ and the one who eats more, doesn't have to pay for the movie theater." Her fingertips wandered cheekily to her lips. "And then we have leftovers for the next morning; I love waking up, knowing there'll be great food from the previous day hehe."

Challenging, he looked at her and leaned a little forward again. "Leftovers? You underestimate me, Quinn."

She leaned over the table as well. "You underestimate _me_ , Sabo."

The guy stretched his hand out. "Deal?"

She took his hand. "Deal."

...

They had thought buying the whole menu was the worst idea and couldn't get any worse, but as Quinn and Sabo sat in the auditorium next to each other, staring exhausted to the screen while the ads were played, they had a box popcorn with them.

"Whose grandiose idea was it to buy popcorn?" Quinn asked with sluggish voice, almost exploding from her stomach.

"Yours," Sabo replied with the same attitude, his hand resting on his tummy.

"Oh." She slowly tilted her head to him. "And your grandiose idea was accepting mine?"

His face also moved to her with a wry smile. "You said you would pay so that means free popcorn. How can you say no to free?"

After both of them had eaten up _everything_ they had ordered so that no loser had been announced, Sabo had willed to pay the movie tickets though. To make it fair, Quinn thought that buying, besides the drinks, popcorn would be a fair choice as well. The two simply had the thought of it being a must-have when watching a movie, especially as they both did too rarely.

"I blame you though," she joked flatly and picked a popcorn piece without ending their eye contact. Out of nothing, she threw the white little piece into air. "Catch!"

Sabo reacted fast and caught it with his mouth, eating it. "Is this your way of forcing me to eat it?"

"Yes, catch!" she said and threw another one.

He caught that one too. "Well, I-"

"Catch!"

"Wait-"

"Another!"

"Oi, I can't-"

"Flip!"

"Quinn...!"

"Yeay!"

As his mouth was too full, he caught the next one with his hand. He swallowed the few ones in his mouth and also ate the latter, exhaling out loudly. "One more and I need the hospital."

"Sorryyy tehe," Quinn said and bit her tongue saucily. She leaned back into her seat and glared at the salty puffed corn. "I guess this will be the first time in history that the popcorn stays almost to its fullest even after the film has started."

Leaning comfortably back as well, Sabo looked back on the screen. "Yo, there'll be enough for the next two hours."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Two minutes of silence.

"Shall we give it to someone else?" Quinn asked.

Sabo agreed. "Yeah."

"Excuse me," the girl said and leaned forward between a couple in front of them. "You want our popcorn? We're stuffed, but were stupid enough to buy it."

The strange couple looked at each other, creating a brief awkwardness before they moved their eyes back to them. "Uhm okay?"

Sabo smiled friendly and tried to encourage them in taking it by comforting their mind with a little joke. "Don't worry, it's not poisoned."

"It's drugged," Quinn deadpanned, creating another awkward silence. "Just kidding."

The couple laughed and took the box. "Thanks, guys, we take it."

Relieved that the popcorn would be still eaten by someone, Quinn stretched a little before she slumped back to her seat with a satisfied face. "Well, I don't regret buying it though."

Sabo looked at her. "Even to those inhuman prices?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Selling food and drinks is the theater's main source for money, so nooope."

"How attentive of you."

Hearing those words, Quinn felt awkward and shy to the same. "Y-yeah." Shy, because it was somewhat like a compliment; awkward because those words were always said by Law. It was weird to think about another guy while talking to her date, even it was briefly and nothing that set the world on fire. Trying to forget about it, she forced herself to change the topic quickly. "Anyway, I'm so excited about this movie! I hope this is some good horror thriller."

Wondrous about her statement, Sabo asked, "didn't you watch the trailer? It's-"

She hushed him with her finger right away. "Judy said I should stop watching trailers when the movie's rated good, so psst!"

"Oh, so you only know it's a horror movie?"

"Yeah! The cover looks cool with some creepy psycho; I hope this won't be anything supernatural."

 _1h 24min later._

"Oah you're serious? From all possible solutions, they choose it to be some lame ghost demon dude?" Quinn complained annoyed about the fact that the movie didn't turn out as she had wished. The crowd in the auditorium, however, startled and laughed as suddenly a scene that supposed to scare up the audience appeared. Half-lidded, as the villains 'scary' appearance didn't take her at all, she glanced over to Sabo whose adrenaline got pushed as hell. "This really has scared you?"

He looked at her with big eyes. "Yes, that came out of nothing...!"

Disappointed by the movie, Quinn folded her arm and hunched in her seat. "Meeeh, I saw it coming. I bet there'll be some religious stuff coming as well..."

 _15min later._

"See, told you. Religious background."

"Religious stuff can be really creepy."

"Yeah, but only because the people make it creepy with their beliefs like exorcism on ill people and homosexuals, and not because there's some black magic!"

Being too noisy during the movie, the people who surrounded them started to complain and even threw a popcorn. "Pssst! Silence!"

Quinn furrowed her brows while her mouth corners, such as her volume, sunk. "I mean, the plot was perfect for some real explanation... a ghostly demon dude's too cheap... and and, I dunno, it's-"

"Pssst!'

She looked at Sabo and leaned a little closer to whisper, "what's more rea-"

He cut her off as he sealed her mouth with his index finger, smiling smoothly into her face. Quinn blushed while her heart had paused for a second, realizing it to be the first time they really shared any skinship beside handshakes, and then it had to be to her lips. Their eyes were locked and her cheeks darkened to red shades even more when she thought about how embarrassing it was that she was even blushing in that moment. The auditorium was during the screenplay dark anyway, but she couldn't stop feeling the color on her face while her chest tightened to her nervosity and excitement of him being so close to her, creating the perfect moment. Kissing a guy lay years back and though it's been told just to go with the flow, her mind concerned her with silly thoughts like having forgotten how to kiss, coughing or sneezing during one. Quinn's lips twitched and tightened slowly, her gaze rolled swiftly down to his lips and back up.

"Watch the movie, it's getting exciting," Sabo said and turned his attention back to the screen.

Speechless, she glared at his side, feeling extremely stupid. Sensing the big imaginary tears streaming from her eyes, she tilted her face away. _He didn't get the signal...!_

...

It was already dark as Sabo and Quinn had left the movie theater, sharing their thoughts to the film they had watched.

"Please don't think I'm always like that when watching movies, it was just, I was veeeery disappointed!" Quinn claimed as she felt bad about nagging too much.

Her company chuckled, walking next to her. "Yep, I saw that."

"I mean, seriously, this movie could've been great! I tend to be more frightened if there was some psycho that I could transfer into real life, not that I want it, god no, but... you know what I mean? It's scarier because it's more real and could happen just uhh around the corner, and the creepy stuff's that you will know what kind of creeps are living among us! Woah, I shiver by the thought! No, but really, the mo-" Realizing that she was carping too much, she stopped and looked stiffly ahead in shame. "I'm sorry..."

Like so many others, Sabo ignored the fact that she was sometimes big-mouthed as it didn't bother him at all. "This movie was good, you're just the 30% with other preferences."

Her teeth gritted with a tired sigh, already annoyed with herself. "Am I weird? I'm weird, right? I'm sorry for being weird."

"Yes, you're weird and awkward, I already told you."

Quinn thanked him sarcastically and stopped in front of her apartment door, making the guy holding too. "Ah, we're there, I'm living here." She looked at him and smiled casually while the thought of kissing on the third date was still struck to her mind. "Thanks for taking me home."

Sabo himself acted also casual as he stood in front of her, smiling down at the hopeful person. "I can't let a girl walking home alone around this time."

"Well, yeah, then... I'm going inside," said she and pointed her eyes briefly to the door and back to him, enduring some awkwardness as she pulled it into length on purpose. "Take care of you."

"Good night, Quinn."

"Good night, Sabo." As he wanted to continue his way, she bit her lower lip a little and started to fiddle for her keys, gaining back his attention. "Uhh, where are my keys?"

"Not that you've lost them," he commented worried.

She already got them as she actually never had struggled to find the bunch but pretended to be still looking until she felt stupid. Laughing awkwardly, Quinn pulled out the key set before it got any obvious and smiled at him. "Ah no, they're here! Uhh, good night!"

Getting inside the building right away after Sabo disappeared, Quinn slumped down on the stairs and buried her pinkish face in her palms. _He didn't get the signal again,_ she thought in disappointment, wondering if it would've been smart to take the initiative herself instead of waiting for him to do. But she was too shy and wasn't even sure if she would do anything wrong with it. In the end, she just felt embarrassed about the situation. _Ouh man..._

* * *

Having a crush was for most something temporarily, that much Law did know about that youthful term. He kind of felt out of place as he thought he grew out of the age of talking about having a crush on that or that person, but things were how they were. Law didn't even know when he had started to grow fond of that girl. Honestly, he wouldn't remember much of the first day as she had come in as a patient if there wasn't the incident of her vomiting on his shoe. And also the two days afterward when she had come back to apologize to him with that little basket and confetti bomb made him branding her as a person in his mind. They started to bump into each other more often than he wished due to his little relationship to her best friend, and he confessed that he found her company (though sometimes annoying) quite amusing from the beginning when he had been to this apartment for the very first time.

As she was his patient, Law could blend out his physical attraction on her easily. It just happened over the time that he had lost control over this because their interpersonal interaction developed into something he then could call acquaintanceship, which was a rare phenomenon for him. He was not the type to deepen his relationship with someone on any personal level just like that, but their conversations turned smooth on their own. Though, that he found her physically appealing was not to blame, he was just a human too.

The young man pushed himself up from the brunette's bed, who peacefully slept next to him, and got outside, seeing some little warm lights burning in the living room. Quietly, Law got closer to the source, spotting Quinn at the dining table with two candles. She sat tailor-fashioned with her back to him and seemed to scribble something as he recognized a notepad and some loose papers. Physical attraction was okay, he was physically attracted to many women, but he had the annoying feeling of interest about her as a person, and especially how her date went.

"Peanut."

Startling a bit, Quinn turned around to see Law standing behind the chair next to her. "Seriously, you're not here to secretly assassin me?" She eyed him briefly up and down, acknowledging his lean muscles that were emphasized by the hard shadows on his body through the flickering candlelight, made her thinking, _and why aren't you wearing a shirt..._

"If, I would've done long time ago," Law replied to the hearable question. "Way too many chances."

"God, you would've been creepier than the guy in the movie," she said with a crooked smile. "What are you do- oh, why am I asking."

According to her words, it looked like they had been to the movie theater together, watching some horror. What cliched corny date. "I'm here to tell you to go to the hospital and let them check on your heart."

She slimmed her eyesight. "Now?"

"Right. Now on the spot, Peanut," he told sarcastically.

"Can't you sleep or what's up?"

"I'm thirsty." Law walked to the kitchen area and took a glass from the cupboard, filling it with water. "Why are you awake? And then in candlelight?"

"Candles save energy, thus money," Quinn responded and moved her eyes back to the table. "And I'm working."

He raised a brow and surveyed her face, noticing no hints of tiredness or concern at all. It was funny to see how casual she treated his sojourn in this apartment again, minding only her own business instead of making some rude comments like the last time he had been there without her invitation. "Working around this time; guess it's you that can't sleep."

"Yop." He walked back to her, one hand in his pocket, the other wrapped around the glass. Bending a little over her shoulder to look on her notes, she felt the awkward closeness and gaze, so she asked him without unfocusing the papers, "is there a reason why you're watching me...?"

"Well, I just wanna check how a teacher's job looks like."

"I'm developing plans for P.E," she told him, tapping the pen in her right hand against the notepad while she waited for him to straightened back. It was not the first time he approached her that close from behind, but it didn't change the fact that it was weird in some kind of way.

Law smiled a little lazily and took the chair to her right, sitting sideways to give her his full attention. "Gymnastics?"

Resting her left elbow on the table, she placed her chin in her hand and tilted her face a little to him. "I always thought that playing group games during P.E. is, of course, a nice way to get kids to be active, but I also know that many kids hate it and would rather do something more structured."

"So, you force them to do gymnastics?"

"I'm not _forcing_ them, I'll teach them," Quinn replied with a smiling eye roll. "Having themed lessons is way better for grading students fairer. You know, I can focus on single performances and developments."

He kept his lazy smile. "Therefore that you're actually not a taught P.E. teacher, you're more thoughtful than I've expected."

Quinn couldn't avoid a short small grin while her eyes darted away as she took it somewhat as a compliment. Straightening a little, she threw him a humorous challenging face. "And you called me a 'bad teacher'."

"I never said 'bad'," he corrected her.

"You practically meant that."

Smiling slyly, he rested his elbow on the wooden surface as well, leaning his cheek lightly against his fist. "I just had told you what would suit your character more."

Her brow rose skeptically. "You said ' _not demanding_ ' like I'm too incompetent."

"Don't you think you're just over-interpreting things?"

"Don't you think you were just rude?"

"I never said a rude word that day," he defended and moved his eyes slowly to the side. "Different to some other people."

Quinn's cheeks on her little grumpy face turned to a light pink shade as she realized that he was somehow right. "Meh."

He smirked mockingly and looked back at her, enjoying her defeat and put the word into her mouth. "You mean 'touché'?"

Gritting her teeth, she looked back to her notepad, forcing out a "...touché," before she pursed her lips in discomfort.

Sometimes he could claim that her grumpy and shy defeats were the most enjoyable thing he came across. Seeing how that confidence crumbled piece by piece was surely an own category in entertainment. However, his eyes glanced down to her jots as she continued with it slowly. He had already wondered once what sport that blonde was doing and had assumed it to be gymnastics. "So, Miss Heady's a gymnast."

"Kinda."

Surprised, he asked, "'kinda', because?"

Quinn wiggled her head a little as she tried to explain, "I'm more of a parkour and free-runner. But many elements intersect, so I majored in gymnastics in college."

That was an unusual hobby for a woman. "Interesting. Your heart's still keeping up with it?"

She snickered a little guilty about his commentary. "Well, it's okay. I guess I'm not that good anymore since I've stopped practicing it after college. Now and then when I'm out in the morning, I try some things for fun, but yeah, I'm too exhausted too fast. But I have also majored in swimming, that's more relaxing! But uhm well, it's tiresome too if you have to fulfill some requested performances; hm... I think it was back then during swimming when I realized I had some struggles with my organ." As horrifying the moment had been back then, as a memory it was laughable. "Someone actually had to _get in_ and saved me from drowning. Phew, since then, I rarely went swimming. Can someone forget how to swim? Oh! oh! But next school semester, I'm allowed to give swim lessons at school!"

"How come you started parkour?"

"Well, I actually wanted to do gymnastics, but I didn't have the chances to join a club, so I somehow met up with people of this scene, and yeah, that was for free etc." Stretching her arms out, she eyed them a little. "You had to see my arms back then, waaaay too muscular, I don't even have to train them anymore and they are still fit somehow. But I like them how they are now, not fit-fit but fit." Her eyes rushed back to him. "Oh, and parkouring's practical!"

"To flee?"

She responded half joking, half serious, "yeah, in case a creepy psycho's following me."

His face turned back to some slyness. "And what if this creepy psycho's in your house? You wouldn't have use of your skills."

In suspicion, she looked at him deeply, turning sarcastically nervous by every second their eyes were locked. "...You're creeping me out."

"I would say, you just consider me a creepy psycho with potential in harming you," said he with a raised brow, cocking his head a little while his fist was changing to an open palm.

Quinn nodded like a well-behaved child. "Correct."

"That's pretty rude."

"..."

He smirked with tease.

"Oah, you're doing that on purpose right?"

"Yeah, because I know exactly what you'll answer from minute one," he replied ironically with lazy eyes.

Quinn nodded in the same well-behaving fashion again. "Yes, I think you have some over-human skills. Super-Dr. Alien-Trafalgar."

"See, your parkour skills are useless right away then."

Staring at him grumpily, but more thoughtful, she decided, "...you're a special case; that doesn't count." Quinn looked back to her notes. "You know what?" She crossed the gymnastic plan and wrote in capital letters 'PARKOUR' underneath. "I'm gonna teach my students how to run from creeps like you. And it'll help to develop their conditional and coordination skills, creativity, self-assessment, and risk-taking."

"Right. No risk, no fun."

Rolling her eyes slightly annoyed back to him, Quinn said, "don't make fun of me when you're living under that phrase yourself."

His mouth corners turned upward in big mockery, his eyes growing, querying her statement. "Do I?"

"Of course! Who else provokes a car chase with the police?"

Straightening, he cocked his head a little with a thoughtful gaze into space before his eyes turned back to her. "I would say I didn't risk but was well aware what was gonna happen next."

With half-opened mouth, she looked at him blankly, making only a sarcastic "uh huh" sound.

Amused, he smiled at her in anticipation. "Prove me wrong."

Quinn raised a brow and took a deep breath before she started to explain. "You took the risk, you were blessed with luck. That's how risks work;" said she and motioned with her straight parallel arms, flexed to the fingertips, from left to right as she continued, "either that way or the other way."

"Or, I just knew what was gonna happen next."

"No, unless you can look into the future."

"Or, I just knew what was gonna happen next."

"Oh, have you seen the consequences for the car chase as well?" Quinn asked and leaned with her side a little closer to him, raising her right brow as high as physically possible while she pierced him with her questioning eye. "What are they?"

"I'm not allowed to drive the whole next month, and yes, I _did_ see that coming."

An insincere convicted smile widened on her face and she shook her head. "No, you took the risk that it might happen, but you didn't know to 100%."

"Or, I just knew what was gonna happen next."

Leaning back casually, she lay one arm over the backrest and gave him with the belonging hand a dry thumbs up. "Congratulations, you just earned a new name, Dr. Wall. Because I'm talking against a wall, Dr. Wall."

"I always have questioned that idiom, since a person must be really stupid to need several attempts to realized they are talking to a wall."

"Super word accuracy and you've made fun of me about mine..."

"I didn't make fun of you, I adapted to it."

Quinn turned back to her notes and set the pen in order to continue, singsonging, "good night, Trafalgar."

"You're so rude, Miss Heady."

She rolled her eyes up and sighed. "I'm not rude. I'm..." Her face turned back to him slowly. " Meh, I'm allowed to be rude to you..."

He looked unimpressed. "Because?"

Her head backed a little off. "Because you're... a bad guy."

"Because?"

"You're behaving bad..."

"Example?"

"You... uh... lied to me about the doctor thing...?"

"Did I really _lie_ to you, or were you just not assertive enough?"

"...you do bad things."

"Example?"

"...a car chase with the police?"

"Right, my intentions were also so bad."

"Just kiddiiiing," Quinn stated again with a somewhat awkward grin, turning back to the table. "Anyway, good night Super-Dr. Alien-wall-Trafalgar. Have sweet dreams."

Law put his cheek back on his palm, sunken into it that his skin got pushed forward and ended up looking somewhat chubby. "Are those some authority issues? Why do you tell a grown man to go to bed?"

It was almost funny how he spoke in such flat tone but keeping that face, which made her want to pinch his cheek. She found it cute. "You're right. Go to the couch."

"I'm not sleeping well on couches," he deadpanned, though she guessed it to be somewhat serious.

Raising both brows, she looked at him in exaggerated surprise. "Not just a picky eater, but also a picky sleeper?"

"If I have the choice to sleep on a bed, why should I choose a couch?"

"Dr. Princess, wanna sleep in my bed again then?" she mocked.

Mocking him was quite a bad idea, and she also realized that as he asked her with a teasing but lazy smile, "was that an invitation?"

Staring at him quietly as she had no answer to it first, her eyes narrowed slowly, building some suspicion. "...You've planned that."

"Yes," Law confessed bluntly.

"You're inhuman."

"Princess Super-Dr. Alien-wall Trafalgar," he stated. Quinn suddenly laughed a little, giving him an eye smile, more sincere than usual. Confused why she instead chose to laugh than to do anything else, he questioned, "why are you laughing?"

"I found it cute that you're calling yourself like that," Quinn told. She piled the loose pieces of paper together on the notepad and got up, closing it. "Anyway, I don't know what you're doing now, but I'm going to bed. Uhm, you stay here?"

"Yeah."

She stepped around the chair, shifting it properly to the table. "Can you blow out the candles when you're done?"

"Yeah."

Law looked calmly after her as she walked to her room. "Alright, good night, Trafalgar."

"Good night," he mumbled.

Having a crush was strange since he was not used to those feelings of joy when talking to a certain person, let alone being able to make her laugh in any way. Though it was not a big deal but acceptable, obviously not ashamed that he did have a thing for her, Law hoped that it will disappear soon. She was already dating another guy (despite that he wouldn't date anyway), and she was still his patient (whether she wanted to or not). Those were enough reasons why he should not try to approach her (she was conservative anyway). She was just one of millions of other women.

Company was not forbidden though, right?

* * *

 _ **A/N:** I would like to hear your opinion about the story's pace, because as I have planned, it will still take some time until QuinnxLaw will  really occur. It's obvious that she's getting along with Law more than she had thought, but speeding that up, jumping from Sabo to Law too fast is not necessarily unrealistic (since feelings and attraction can be pretty confusing) but for me quite a boring plot in relationship development. I'm just curious because I tend to compare this to other fics and those are already getting into the game latest around chapter 30. All-in-all we're here for the Lawness loool._

 _Also, I would love to hear what bothers you. If it's too much OC, if those are getting annoying. Of course we're here to read about some canon characters, but to develop a story and relationship, I simply can't ignore my OCs. I feel hard though deciding how much is too much. You may have noticed that I bring up details about their past, likes or dislikes randomly through conversations and situations than digging too much in detail about it (let's ignore the fact that Quinn loves to babble details xD)_

 _So, drop a review if you like, thank you! Much looove to old and new readers~_

 _P.S.: yes, this was Bruno Mars xD_


	28. The first time

**28\. The first time**

Early in the noon, the sun was shining down the streets underneath the clear blue sky while no hint of a breeze was in the air. A day with weather factors that was classically labeled as nice. It was the first day of May, or also known as May Day in some regions. As a bank holiday, Judy and Quinn belonged to those who got the day off, made them spending it rather somewhere else than at home.

"Judy, the bus is coming in eight minutes," Quinn told impatiently across the hall, checking nervously the time while her friend was still in her room. As mentioned to begin with would it take, in a casual pace, six minutes from their door to the bus station.

"Yeah, wait, I'm coming now!" The brunette took a last check in her mirror before she walked out to leave the apartment together.

Outside in the warm sun, Quinn took off her parka and knotted it around her waist. "What took you so long?"

Judy stared into the little mirror that was attached to her powder case. "I got a pimple all of a sudden and had to conceal it."

Worry grew as Quinn checked the time on her phone again. "Ouh crap, the bus is coming in four minutes. I run ahead and stop the bus."

"Ah, no, wait Quinn! I don't wanna run!" Judy shouted with an unhappy face after her as the blonde ran off.

"You know the bus arrives only every single hour today!" she shouted back from afar.

Judy hated running and wondered how she was supposed to complete a six minutes route in four when wearing heels. Nevertheless, she had no option than doing after her friend and put the mirror annoyed away, starting to speed up until she just made it before the bus driver and other passengers could get annoyed. She had never been the great athlete; her highest cardio tolerance was during intercourse, but else she was the type to gasped only after a few meters with stitches in her side.

...

Penguin and Shachi were happy to see the two women coming over to check on the bedridden guy's condition. They got inside easily without the need to knock or ring since the door was wide opened again in order to air the apartment as female visit had been expected, made Shachi getting up early in the morning to let the air in as their little home smelled like sweat. Even perfume had been used in despair to make the scent in the air somewhat normal, and it seemed like the two visitors indeed didn't notice anything sniffy lingering around them.

Quinn landed on her knees next to Penguin, who was lying on the bottom bunk, leaning her hands over the mattress. "How are you? Does it still hurt? You want something to snack? We brought you chocolate. What's your favorite chocolate? Do you even like chocolate? Oh! Can I draw something on your cast?"

"Geez Quinn, don't bombard the poor guy with so many questions," Judy commented and put the little chocolate box down.

"Sorryyy."

Penguin chuckled. "I'm good, could be of course better, but well, at least I got to see Shachi's serving me."

"It's not like you can't move!" The redhead complained annoyed from the side.

"My dominating arm's broken and do you know how painful it is to move with broken ribs?"

"Blah blah."

Rolling his eyes, Penguin moved his attention back to the girl next to him then. "Ah, I don't need chocolate now, but thank you for that! And uhm, of course, you can." He looked to Shachi. "Ey, give her the black marker."

"It would be a pleasure to give her the black marker," he replied sarcastically and handed her the pen.

Quinn laughed. "You're a great friend, Shachi."

"Uhh, yeah, no biggie, this idiot's my bro after all," he said and rubbed his neck modestly as he took place on the carpet again.

Beginning to draw on his cast plaster, Judy knelt down as well to check how she was immortalizing herself on it. It was a penguin she went for, walking happily with a stick and an attached cloth to carry his stuff. "Very creative," said she ironically.

Quinn half-lidded her eyes. "He likes penguins, so I draw him one."

The injured guy looked at her little masterpiece and indeed felt some joy. "Oh, you're really good at drawing! I really like it!"

"Naaaaw, you're so sweet!" she squealed and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on his cheek as she couldn't hold back anymore, his character made her wanting to cuddle him every time.

"Wow, slow down girl," said Judy, surprised about the sudden (though not _that_ unusual) move.

It was also out of Penguin's expectation and he blushed as reaction. "Quinn...!"

Again, it was his mate to received more female attention, leaving Shachi just speechless as he thought once again, _the world's so unfair!_ Since it was not the first time that he was 'left behind', he didn't even make the effort to comment on it as he felt ignored anyway.

Backing off, Quinn subtly clapped her hands in short intervals with a sheepish grin, feeling not guilty as she claimed at all. "I'm sorry, he's just too cute, I couldn't resist and meh, sorry."

"No no no, nothing to feel sorry about!" Penguin stated and waved with his left hand as he obviously had enjoyed her little 'gift'.

"What have you done again to create such ruckus?" a third male voice sounded from the corner. Turning around, the bunch looked at Law, who just had come out of the bathroom and looked down at the blonde, stoic as always.

"Oh, you're here too Law," Judy noted, the attempt of sounding casual seeping through her voice.

Quinn tightened her lips and eyes to his statement, quite in displeasure about his commentary. "That sounds like I'm only making trouble..."

Law got to the fridge and took place on the thick red carpet floor as well as he had sat on that spot also before, leaning against the big white square shaped box. "I only said 'ruckus', Peanut."

"I kissed Penguin."

An awkward reaction of brief silence followed before the gray eyes drifted away like the young doctor would care less. "Mischief-maker."

"Huuuh? It was just on his cheek because he said something sweet."

"Because of his nickname," he corrected dryly.

Straightening on her knees, she challenged him with an irked look and moved over to Shachi. Law's gaze followed her and saw how she suddenly placed another kiss on the redhead's cheek, making the guy blushing as well with huge surprised eyes. "Quinn?!"

She looked at Law, giving him a 'ha-jokes-on-you' look. "Because he's also cute, _without_ a nickname."

"And what did you wanna prove me?" Law asked coldly, if not discreetly annoyed. "That you can kiss any guy on the cheek?"

"I don't kiss any guy on the cheek," she claimed and hugged Shachi tightly, who decided to say nothing further but just relished her closeness and her breasts pressing against his torso. "Only my sweet friends'."

A crack happened rapidly through both kissed guy's mind. _FRIENDZONED._

Though, Law recognized that perversity on his companion's face and was annoyed that the blonde was not aware of what she was causing the redhead to feel. He chose to say nothing and kept a disinterested attitude. "Whatever."

Observing the doctor a little, Judy for her part wondered if Law was any kind of jealous. Even when it could have been a lie as he had stated to feel nothing for Quinn, she didn't expect him to be the _jealous_ type of guy. Law was way too rational and cold to feel any sort of those feelings; but it were just assumptions, so she tried to forget about it. "Uh Quinn, don't you wanna meet Sabo on your day off?"

"Uhh, I'm gonna visit him tomorrow after work," she said, letting go of Shachi.

Instantly, a hidden sound of tease sneaked into Judy's voice. "Visit him? Like his place?"

"Ah, Sabo doesn't live alone but with relatives. We planned to see each other tomorrow, but he's home alone with his little brother and had to take care of him so that he spontaneously invited me to come over."

Judy's lips widened while her eyes seemed rather relaxed. "Home alone with his little brother, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Oh Judy, we don't like that face," Shachi commented with a grin as he saw her increasing her smile dangerously.

Not understanding what was going on, the blonde looked at the two in turns. "Huh?"

Judy lifted a brow swiftly, keeping her sassy expression. "Hey, why not?"

"I don't get it," said Quinn.

Penguin threw in his opinion as well. "Quinn's not like that."

Being the only one, who didn't understand, she turned quickly to the bedridden guy, asking him with furrowed brows as she felt the apprehension. "Not like what?"

The brunette shot Shachi her sly expression. "Hey, you as guys should know."

"Yeah... well, it could be, but I dunno, we don't know Sabo," Shachi said, careful about his thoughts.

Quinn looked at Penguin and desperately requested an answer by just staring at him. "Just ignore the two," the guy advised her.

The longer she thought about it, eyeing their weird faces, the more she thought of understanding it. "A-are you talking about kissing?"

Smiling wryly, Shachi's eyes shifted to the side. "Yeah... kissing, right."

"Oh Quinn, you're so cute," Judy stated.

Law found it almost ridiculous how that blonde didn't get what the two were talking about so that he had to solved the mystery for her. "They're talking about intercourse."

"Aww Cap, you ruined everything," Shachi said with a small laugh.

Judy sighed, the slight pitch of her disappointed voice sounding through. "It just started to get funny."

"Are you guys stupid?!" Quinn questioned with pink cheeks. "We didn't even kiss yet and you talk about sex..."

"I-I said nothing!" Penguin defended himself, not wanting to be involved in their teasing. Friendzoned or not, he wanted to keep his nice and sweet image.

"Sooo, not yet huh? You think he likes you?" Judy asked, elbowing her softly.

"Of course he does, why else should he still date her?" Shachi said.

"I don't know. Men?"

Not pleased to hear that, Quinn stated, "Sabo's not the type of men that only date you to _sleep_ with you."

Her friend ignored her statement though, with mockery. "Hm... men?"

"Hey, but I'm not that type of guy...!" Penguin remarked from the bed as he knew himself that she was not necessarily wrong since many men behaved like that.

Using his statement as support to defend Sabo's image, Quinn agreed with him right away. "Yeah, how can you stereotype Penguin as such!"

The brunette rolled her eyes humorously. "Of course men want you to think they are all nice and prince charming."

"No! He's not like that!" Quinn said one more and wanted to convinced her own mind, her eyes wandered briefly over to Law. "T-Trafalgar's like that...!"

"I don't date," Law commented flatly.

"He and Sabo are way different, he's the perfect example for that asshole type and Sabo's not like that at all!"

"I don't date," Law remarked again.

"Law can be really charming if he wants," Judy claimed, recalling all the times they had flirted with each other before their sex became normal.

"Ah, I remember when we've met first in the bar," Shachi said. "He's a quiet flirter, but he flirts pretty well."

Thinking about it, Quinn realized one more that he must be really good at seducing women with his glibness, despite his sometimes rather dry and weird personality. Or maybe _that_ was his played personality, but no one knew? "But he's more like an actor then, right?"

Shachi nodded. "That's it."

"Yeah, I remember his and Judy's flirts when they were dating for sex."

Feeling completely ignored, Law set up his tense body and raised his voice a little roughly. "I said, I don't date!"

"Don't worry Law, I don't take that amiss," the brunette told him casually in a semi-interested side-comment way as she knew she was just the same. To get someone into bed quick, you couldn't always be 'just you'.

"Yeah, and we know for years that you're just acting during dates for sex," Penguin said, also in the same casual and careless way.

"Oi, I said I _don't_ date!" Law voiced his annoyance one more.

Shachi looked at him to mention a fact. "You've once met a girl three times before you went to bed with her."

"Those were _no_ dates!"

Finding it funny how upset he got for his usually calm nature, Quinn tried to hold her amused grin. "Doctor does not like the term 'date', huh?"

"Date's too cheesy for him," Penguin guessed, but it sounded rather like a matter of fact.

She slowly shifted herself closer to Law with a mocking expression from the side as she said, "picky with food, picky with sleep places, and now picky with terms, huh?" Stopping close next to him, leaning closer from the side while her face looked up to him, she grinned. "Dr. Picky."

He side-glanced her swiftly before he turned away in his annoyance. "Geez, you guys..."

"Hehe, therefore you're a pervert ass, you can be quite cute when uncomfy."

Exasperation brew in him, a lot of that, and his cheeks colored a slight pink as he muttered, "be quiet..."

"Ohh, are you blushing?" Quinn asked with wondrous eyes as she backed off, smiling like a Cheshire cat. "I didn't know your body can produce those colors. How cute!"

Gritting his teeth, Law muttered to her again to shut up while his tiny-blushing face looked down.

"Well, Law's actually honest. He always makes sure that the girl knows it's nothing serious," Penguin said then calmly with a soft smile to wash his friend's name clean. He understood why Quinn kept seeing him as a rude ass since Law was not the most charismatic and friendly guy, but now and then he found it appropriate to defend him a little as a friend.

The conversation was maybe amusing, but it was obvious to Quinn that Judy held some suspense as Penguin said that. Whatever she was claiming, she did have a thing for the doctor and so the blonde wanted to support her, or at least get her out of this stiffness. "Uhh, well...! Anyway! Sabo's not that type of guy, and-and if he's trying, I'm gonna reject him...!" Not that she wanted to get back to that topic, but it was the first thing that came up her mind in order to distract.

And it helped quite fast. "Rejecting? Why not just taking?" said the woman suddenly more relaxed.

"Wha- nooo!"

Judy clamped her chin between her thumb and curled index finger. "I wonder what's underneath his clothes. He appears like the sporty sort of guy."

Uncomfortable by it, Quinn blushed in embarrassment as her friend caused her a brief mental cinema. "Judy...!"

Shachi exchanged silent looks with the guy on the bed, his eyes saying, 'she's sooo naughty!'

Nodding a little, Penguin's eyes answered him 'I knoooow!'

Quinn indeed liked athletic guys but knew that looks were not everything. "I-I don't care if he has a trained body or not, he should be just nice..." said she and looked shyly down to her lap, playing with her hair and occasionally covered half of her face with a strand to hide her emotions.

"During sex?"

"I mean as person!" she said then with an eye roll.

Judy chuckled. "I was just kidding."

The lids over the blue orbs lowered, unimpressed and annoyed about the brunette's humor. "God, you're always so reserved, but when it comes to sex, you're like a stupid gossip girl."

"I'm just an open minded woman that knows what she wants, with sincere interest in her best friend's love life."

"Touché," Quinn stated miffed and added "thanks guys, you lifted my mind, I'm now prepared for anything," not sure how much she should look forward to tomorrow while uncomfortable thoughts would bother her mind in secret.

"If he touches you against your will you can use your parkour skills," Law told in deadpan.

"Oah, now he's a rapist or what?"

"You can do parkour?!" Shachi asked amazed. "That's pretty sick as a girl!"

Narrowing her brows, she asked back, not certainly happy about his compliment, "heee, what do you mean 'as a girl'?"

"I mean, girls don't do that often, right...?" he replied, reducing his excitement as he noticed her displeasure.

Her hands rested around her waist and she bent a little closer to the redhead with a hint of madness. "That's right, but you can just say 'that's sick', it would've changed nothing to your statement."

"Uhm, I-I'm sorry...!"

Not sure again if her problem was stereotyping _her_ , or the female gender in general, Law asked, "does it count as sexist too, to find it special when a girl has a hobby that's dominated by the opposite gender?"

Quinn's gaze shifted over to him with sunken mouth corners as he made her feel wrong or uncertain again. "Y-yeah...!"

"Don't tell us you're a feminist," Shachi joked.

"I'm not a feminist...! I just don't like stereotyping!" she claimed. "And even if, there's nothing reprehensible about being one." Her lips pursed with blown cheeks huffed like a child. "However, when you meet him, you'll all see how stupid your assumptions were."

Judy wriggled with her brows. "So, introducing him to your friends means something serious is going on?"

Shyly, the blonde pushed the tips of her index finger together. "Well, I dunno... serious... we're just started dating... tehe."

"Don't worry, you can always say 'no' if he approaches you," Penguin told to comfort her from the nervosity.

"Yeah..." Quinn felt hard to agree with him completely as she knew she was a person that did hard in saying 'no' when it came to someone she liked.

"Sleeping with him will be basically like your second 'first time'," Judy said.

Surprise came from all three guys as they looked in different ways inquiring at her.

Quinn leaned back on her arms, smiling wryly into space as she thought about her ex-boyfriend. "Yeah, my first time was... well..., and everything after was... well..."

"Ah, you don't have to tell us!" Penguin stopped her.

His mate agreed. "Yeah, this is still private stuff that has nothing to do with us!"

"Ah, no, it's okay..." It was not like she wanted to go in details with her telling, so she didn't mind letting her friends know (and Law). Flippantly, she started off, "I got together with my ex when I turned 20, and well, I was totally in love blah blah because he was so nice and lovely to me. He was virgin as well and behaved like a pubescent teenage boy, who watched too much porn. And yeah, me as someone who had no clue about all the stuff, not that I do really know much now, but uhm yeah, uhh, thought he's doing right. And well, we slept together after a month, he had some weird fetishes, and he was bad, it hurt and... I dunno, I hated it, blah blah but I did for him." She paused. "Yo, because I thought he loves me."

"No Quinn, don't cry...!" Shachi said somewhat panicky as they saw her eyes were getting wet slowly

"In the end, it was just all about his fantasies, and I was an idiot and fall for that," she told and wiped off a tear with a laugh, ridiculing herself and the situation.

Judy hugged her. "I should've cut off his penis back then."

"That was really a damn bastard..." Penguin said compassionately.

Law was not surprised anymore that she was uncomfortable when it came to sex. She seemed to be sort of traumatized due to what had happened to her with her ex-boyfriend; even for him, it sounded like some disgusting pervert jackass with no common sense and any respect towards women. And the more he thought about it, the more he found himself curious, made him ask, "what have you done then?"

Quinn looked at him while she was still hugging Judy back. "Hm?"

"How did you break up with him?"

"Well... I didn't, Judy did hehe..."

"Judy?" Shachi repeated, wondering how that had worked.

"Yeah, I had no guts talking to him and was still somehow convinced that he 'loves' me. Without Judy, I would've endured it longer, since after I've told her, she walked up to him and give it to him straight."

"He even had videos of her during sex and when she was sleeping, and I had to made him deleting it all," the brunette told with a brow rose, feeling her contempt by the thought. "Disgusting douche bag."

Quinn laughed a bit. "Well, actually, you went into his dorm room and destroyed his hard drive."

"Oh yeah, that was it," she responded, almost forgot it herself, causing laughter.

Squeezing Judy, the blonde pressed her cheek against hers with a broad smile. "And that's how we became best friends!"

"Hey, you're rubbing off my makeup."

"Oops, hehe."

Maybe that was the reason why she didn't like stereotyping? Because her ex-boyfriend had treated her like an object, breaking her trust in men? But what was this Sabo-guy having that made her fall for him instantly with such trust? Law was once again annoyed when he caught himself questioning something so trivial; especially because the answer was obvious and he not dumb to _not_ know it.

"Anyway, don't worry. You know, my first time was weird as well," Judy said and let go of Quinn, who did the same. Looking at the curious faces of Penguin and Shachi, she snickered slightly and told like some storyteller, "I was sixteen and had my first one-night-stand with a guy who had no clue at all and was just like, in-out-in-out."

"Definitely a virgin," Shachi determined.

Judy smiled as she rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Nope. I was his fifth." Shock and entertainment expanded over the two faces and she continued, "I lay there like what-the-hell, and then he fell asleep right away _on_ me after he came. Tried to wake him until he started to snore, so that I struggled myself out from his heavy body and left right away, half-dressed, in the middle of the night. It was deep winter.

"But he was good looking!" Quinn noted with a finger in the air.

Judy twitched a brow with lazy eyes into space and a sarcastic smile. "Yeah... looks were by the end not everything after all."

Lying on the bed, Penguin's mouth curled smoothly up and he stared ahead against the top bunk' above him. "Well, my first time was with my first girlfriend when I was seventeen. It was pretty cliched because, before, I watched a super cheesy romance, just to make it for her as beautiful as for me," he told dreamily, nostalgic about the moment. "You know, candles and rose petals..."

"Naaaaw, you're so cute Penguin!" Quinn squealed a bit again.

Judy nodded subtle with a raised brow, feeling definitely different to her friend. " _That's_ really cheesy, almost over the top."

"Nooo! It's cute!"

The bedridden guy chuckled lightly. "She had to move away and we had been trying distance relationship, but it didn't work out. Her name was Laura Acker and she was my very first love. I still remember that she had a sister, a cat and a very strict family."

Quinn arched her lips. "Poor Penguin."

"She was pretty, I liked her!" Shachi said. "Law found her annoying."

"Why annoying?" Judy asked, but not really surprised.

"Was she too cheesy in your attendance?" Quinn joked.

But she hit the mark, so Law confirmed. "Yeah."

In tailor fashion, Shachi rested his elbow against the side of his knee, supporting his head. "Well, my first time was also with my first real girlfriend when I was eighteen. It was more funny, but good. The relationship didn't last longer than a year though; she betrayed me."

"What a bitch," Judy commented.

"Yeah, I don't wanna blame Law, but after she had seen him, she was like 'my demands in men raised, I'm sorry, I hope you understand me'. And Law's one year _younger_ than me."

"Wait, she betrayed you with Trafalgar?!" Quinn exclaimed in shock, wanting to have it clear.

"What no! Holy shit, no! He was just her trigger for her 'real taste in men'."

Quinn looked at the doctor, who just sat there and appeared calm and disinterested. "Oh, uh, oops. I'm sorry, hehe."

Judy shook her head to that story. "Oh man, I'm so sorry for that."

"Ah, no, it's okay, that lies seven years back," Shachi told and waved it off with a smile. "She was too arrogant anyway."

"Hey, we're knowing Law for twelve years now and we have no clue about his first time," Penguin suddenly noticed and all eyes moved to the passive doctor.

"Ohhhh, right!" Shachi joined his wondrous attitude.

Quinn glared at him and over her lips washed a crooked smile. "I don't know if I even want to know that..." The imagination of Law being any different to now was impossible to her, he appeared like he had been born like he was now; full facial hair, over 6 feet tall, trained body with tattoos and a high sex drive; hence his mother must have been a giant.

"Well, your luck, Peanut," Law said and got up, checking his watch. "I have to head to work now."

They looked after him as he passed the circle to get to the entrance, Quinn saying, "what, already?"

"Yeah."

"But today's May Day!" Shachi said.

"Bank holidays don't apply with the hospital's schedule."

"Man, that sucks. You really should use your holidays already," said Penguin.

Shachi agreed and already suggested a time. "Christmas!"

"Summer!" Penguin added, hoping them to visit the beach this year together.

"Halloween!" The redhead continued, despite knowing the fact that Law didn't like that event.

"6th October!" Quinn suddenly joined their suggestions and the group looked silently at her as they hadn't expected something so specific. Feeling awkwardly stared at, she looked into the round and pulled quietly back her excitement. "What? I like birthdays."

Law was surprised that she even remembered this date, but he said nothing more but "see you," before he left.

A little disappointed, Judy said, "hm... I was really curious about his first time."

Quinn smiled with lowered lids. "Well, I'm okay with not knowing."

"Cecilia Boyle."

The heads on the floor turned to the guy on the bed.

Penguin looked back at their clueless faces. "That was her name."

"Ehh, how do you know that?" Shachi queried, his brows turned to slight bewilderment.

"He told us once, forgot it?"

"But you still remember it?"

"I don't forget names so easily."

Judy's gaze wandered a bit around, scanning the room until it held at the black device in the corner. "Can I have the laptop?"

"Uh... sure?" Confused, Shachi got up to get her the item while he didn't even really try to figure out why she needed it. His porn folders were encrypted and locked with passwords anyway as that he had to care she would find them, so he let her do her stuff.

"What else do you know about her?" Judy asked while she handled the device.

Shachi raised both his open hands on chest level, emphasizing his innocence and cluelessness. "I know nothing."

"Uh, she studied here in town with him."

Shocked about his mate having this additional information, he questioned again, "how do you know that?!"

"I don't forget important people," the guy claimed calmly as he still lay casually on the bed.

"Important?"

"Yeah, the first time's important."

Still not believing how his friend could remember that as he, himself, didn't even remember the full name of his own ex-girlfriend, the redhead snarled a little in his disbelief. " _Your_ first time and not _his_!"

"I even know the name of _your_ first time or your girlfriend in 6th grade."

Quinn sat down next to Judy and looked at her activity while she chuckled quietly at the two. "Penguin's so cute."

Hearing that, Shachi turned around quite confused about her serenity. "What the hell, am I the only that thinks it's weird?!"

"No, don't worry, me too," Judy answered halfhearted in tone as her focus was still on the work she was doing on his laptop.

Interested what she was actually doing, Shachi moved over to their guests and squatted down next to the brunette to have a look on the screen as well. "What are you doing there anyway? You don't really hope to find her through social media, do you?"

"Don't be silly," she replied with a slight ridiculing tone. "Here; in this town are only 4 people with the name Cecilia Boyle, who had studied at the same university."

Penguin's face rushed to the trio with big eyes as he was the shocked now. "How did you do that?!"

"It's basically my job," she responded simply.

Smiling, Quinn looked at him and explained, "Judy's like a paid stalker. Digging in public records via a secret coded website of her company."

Shachi eyed the list of four names and locations, looking uncertain to the brunette. "Is it legal to make use of it out of work?"

She smoothly winked at him and moved her eyes back on screen, turning his cheeks rosy as about how much more attractive he found her all of a sudden.

"So, you wanna go and stalk them?" Quinn asked.

Judy looked at her. "Well, we got their addresses."

Excited, Quinn hopped a little up and down on her legs as they were folded over each. "Ohh, so we're gonna ask them in person?!"

"Sure," Judy answered simply.

"Oh Oh! Can we then stand in front of them and hold out a photograph of Trafalgar and be like:" Quinn stretched out her arm and pretended to hold a picture, lowering her voice to that of a strict police officer doing interrogations. " _Have you seen that man before?_ "

"Sure."

"Oh! Oh! Better! A super bad drawing of him! Their eyes will turn 'what the fuck?' when they see that!"

"Sure."

Shachi's face moved to Penguin, whose eyes just shared the same thought as him. Women were sometimes weird when it came to gossip.

* * *

It were only the three that stood in front of a small Bungalow since Penguin couldn't leave the bed without complaints. They were eyeing the little door up and down as they really had made the effort to search for the location of the person on the top of the list. Finding out about Law's first time was surely a fun activity to do on a beautiful day off in town. According to his friends, Law actually had no secret about his bed stories, so they guaranteed that he wouldn't get upset if they investigated a little on their own after he had disappeared right when everyone had told about their first time.

"Okay, l bet each of you ten bucks, she's brunette, aaaand... a forensic doctor," Quinn said, standing in the middle of the two.

With lightly folded arms, Judy bet, "blonde, out of shape and unemployed."

Their heads turned to Shachi and he returned a short look, understanding slowly that they expected him to play along. Staring back at the door as he realized their anticipation, he spoke out the first thing he came up with, "uhh... well, lovely single girl that still studies."

"Still? I thought she studied with Trafalgar and probably finished together?" Judy asked.

"Ah, no, Law had finished his master with 19."

"WHAT?!" Both girls exclaimed out with giant eyes, Jaw-slacking.

"Yeah, he's really good in his field."

Finding his word choice underrated, Quinn grabbed his collar and shook him awake. "He's a _genius_ in his field!"

Judy looked at her friend. "Wait, didn't you skip something too?"

"Yeah, FIRST grade, FIRST," Quinn remarked loud and slow as she turned her face over her shoulder to look at her. "Then when you do NOTHING. Please, this is super embarrassing to compare me with that brain!"

She laughed a little and lift a hand briefly to her plain apology. "Oh, I'm sorry."

Shachi scratched his cheek, feeling a little intimidated by her furor as she was still gripping his collar strongly. "Yeah, Law's kinda special."

"Hooooly, how did he do that?!" Quinn inquired and looked back at the redhead, pulling his face closer to her. "Did he skip school years or uni semesters?"

"Uhm, well... Law had been educated in medicine before I even know him, and he visited uni-seminars during secondary school and high school, and wrote his bachelor thesis while he was finishing his final school year. And then finished his master thesis in one year."

"He, is, a, freaking, genius," said she slow and distinctly, still not believing what Law had accomplished.

Her eyes had grown, looking almost scary and threatening for Shachi. "Y-yeah...!"

"Oh, my, god." Quinn let go of him and shook her head to digest the information with a sigh. "And I wondered how doctors could be so young."

Getting slowly tired of her awe, Judy said, "it's okay Quinn, we know he's sexy."

She turned her head to her friend, her face still in dull disbelief. "He, is, a, freaking, genius."

"Quinn..."

"Oh, uhm, I'm sorry..."

"Geez Quinn."

"Who had thought that Dr. Trafalgar is actually Dr. Genius," she mumbled and looked back to the door.

"Quinn," Judy repeated annoyed.

"I-I'm sorry!"

The group then took a deep breath and stepped closer to the door, ringing the little bell with the label 'Boyle'. They looked at it quietly and turned anxious by every second it took for the person to answer.

The clicking of the key unlocking the door sounded, turning their hearts into slow tension as each of them mumbled their wager, Quinn with two crossed fingers on shoulder level. A small gap opened while the door chain on the inside stopped it from getting any wider. At them glared an old lady in her 70's, asking with a quiet voice, "hello, how can I help?"

The group smiled friendly about the unexpected person, one saying, "ah, hello, how are you, madame? We're looking for Cecilia Boyle."

The old lady's eyes shifted from one to another, scanning the trio suspiciously. "Why?"

"Uhm, we just have a few questions regarding a person, nothing to worry about," Quinn said, trying to comfort her mind.

"Cecilia Boyle?" said the old lady with scratchy voice. "That's me."

The group smiled widely at her, feeling the awkwardness between them as it was anything but what they were looking for. Glancing on her white curly hair, Quinn asked though, while her smile stayed without an eye blink, "you don't used to be brunette and a forensic?"

...

After they had failed at the first address, the group stood in front of an old and rustic apartment door, Quinn turning to her friends as she knocked. "Door numero dos."

She backed off slowly as someone unlocked it, opening it in a jerk. A tall and extremely wide and muscular man stood in front of them, wearing a tight shirt in which the three probably fitted together. He eyed the bunch with a grim face like he was going to punch them any moment, before he stopped at the two girls, eyeing them better. Quinn and Judy stepped back without breaking eye contact with the big guy and shifted Shachi to the front to talk to him.

Staggering forwards while the man's appearance warned him, Shachi pulled himself together as he felt responsible as the man within the group and made himself ridiculously taller, swallowing his nervosity. "Uh, hello...! We're looking for Cecilia Boyle..."

The muscular guy looked into Shachi's face more closely, scanning down his feet and back up. "Cecilia, huh?"

He had an extremely bad breath, making the redhead holding his' instantly while he nodded with a forced smile, full of intimidation.

The guy straightened, his eyes not leaving the smaller one. "CECILIA?!" he suddenly shouted with a volume in his deep manly voice that startled the trio right away. If he had a herd, he would be the alpha that called everyone together like that.

From the back sounded a pitched and annoyed female. "Yeah?!"

"People looking for ya!" The guy shouted, reflecting her annoyance.

"Is this my lawyer?!"

"GO CHECK YOURSELF!" He snarled and then muttered, "bitch."

The group pulled up their mouth corners with all their strength, trying to stay friendly as much as they could as he glanced back at them with his harsh and unfriendly face. His eyes wandered back to the two girls behind Shachi and Quinn pulled at the back of Judy's shirt, signalizing her discomfort. "Blonde and brunette, huh?" said he and the two cringed.

He looked at Shachi. "Ya chicks?"

"M-m-m-m-m-my friends...!"

He licked over his yellow teeth, clenching his jaw. "Just friends?"

"Y-y-y-yes...!" Shachi answered extremely nervous, nodding frantically.

The guy looked back at the two and winked at them.

CRINGE.

"You two are hot," he said and winked with the other eye.

CRINGE.

"Wanna come in with me?"

They poked into the redhead's back, requesting him to do something against that awful guy. Feeling it, he extended his gummy smile. "Those two are lesbians...!"

 _WHAT?!_

Suddenly, the guy's lips curled a little up as naughty thoughts rushed through his minds, his gaze undressing the two disgusted girls, both poking harder into Shachi's back but rather as punishment than ask for help. He tried to keep straight, enduring the annoying pain he deserved.

"Yeah?" said a female behind the guy at the door, a little shorter than Quinn. She had a messy bun, made of her red dyed hair that looked outwashed more like colored in period blood. Her tan was strong, but fake, with too much clumpy mascara around her eyes while she stood in front of them with a low cut top, such as low waisted jeans, her little belly hung out the gap between both fabrics. Tapping the big guy with the back of her hand on his shoulder, he disappeared inside, having his last look on the two girls and made them cringe one more. The woman, however, stared back to the trio, eyeing them. "You're not my lawyer."

Quinn stepped confidentially forward again. " _LAW_ is a good beginning! Have you seen that man before?" said she and held out a painting of him. It was quite cartoonish, but his sideburns, goatee, piercings, such as his dark circles and party-pooping face was still recognizable in every depiction.

"Hm..." The woman eyed the drawing briefly, chewing her bubble gum slow and loud. "Why?"

"We're just looking for him! Nothing to worry about!"

"Okay?" She looked back at the drawing. "Hm... yeah, I know him."

"Out of shape, I still get 20 bucks right?" Judy whispered discreetly to the side while her face stayed to the front.

Not sure yet if she was Law's first time, thus not willing to pay her anything, Quinn asked, "ouh, okay, you know him? From where exactly?"

"Five bucks and I tell you."

The group looked at her perplexed, Quinn blinking a few times with a dull smile. "Excuse us?"

"Money," the woman said like she had to explain it again for idiots.

The three of them looked at each other, saying no word, but it was enough to understand that they all had the same question. ' _Worth five bucks?'_ As those nodded to their approval, Quinn pulled a note out of her jeans, reaching her the money, displeased. "Well, here you go..."

She took it and stuffed the money in the back of her trousers. "This guy, I know him from a long time ago."

"20 bucks," Judy repeated quietly as the direction was a good one.

The woman distorted her face into rather unhappy looking memories. "Trafalgar, or what was his name?"

"Y-yeah, right!" Quinn nodded hectically.

"Hate this guy!"

"Oh, okay?" Judy said, smiling only with her lips.

"Yeah, he ruined everything!" The woman said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "When you see him, give him that from me." She showed them her middle finger.

Judy raised a brow. "Was your first time that bad?"

"Yeah, super, I said, never again! The way he looked at me, talked to me, touched me, urgh!"

"Ouhhh, can you please tell us more?" Shachi asked, not hiding his curiosity, just to make sure to hear how bad his playboy friend had been.

The woman looked at her and stretched out her hand with her palm to the top again. "Five bucks."

Looking down at her hand, Quinn smiled wryly. "Guys, I think I'm good here."

"No, I wanna know!" Shachi said.

"Then pay."

He pulled out his purse from the inner of his jacket, reaching out for five bucks as well. "Here Miss."

She took it and folded the money slowly. "Trafalgar was... well... the worst and unfriendliest, most insensitive, bluntest, coldest, most respectless, ugliest, most stupid, stinkiest..."

Their eyes grew by all those adjectives and those that followed, and they automatically imagined the worst sex their minds could create, worse than their own worst time.

"...Doctor I have ever visited."

What?

They paused with sarcastic smiles before a quiet "doctor, huh?" squeezed out their lips.

"Yeah, five bucks and I tell more."

...

"I can't believe we've lost ten bucks to that woman," Quinn said on the bench at the bus station while her head leaned against Shachi's shoulder as he sat next to her.

He had his head on hers, saying, "I can't believe we actually believed she had studied with him."

Judy was standing next to them, checking on the left info she had jotted on her phone. "So, two addresses left. Maybe she's not in town anymore. We should use a photograph of him since he could look different to when he was younger."

"Ah, back then he hadn't had his goatee and only one piercing on each lobe," said Shachi and pulled out his phone. "Wait, maybe I have an old photo of him on my cell."

Finding in his online storage indeed one from the night they had celebrated his finished Master, he held the screen towards the two and they glanced down on it, both squealing as they saw the doctor's younger and shaved face. His expression was the same average emotionless 'I-don't-give-a-fuck' one though but appeared much more harmless than it did today.

"Alright, with that, she'll definitely recognize him." Quinn jumped up. "Hit or miss."

...

The next place was another building in simple baroque style. The main hall was designed like a comfortable middle-class hotel, each doorbell was sprayed gold, such as the apartment number, while the floor was a cream colored carpet and the walls white. It was one of those buildings that were expensive even the amount of square meters were minimal.

"What if you step on crap and have to get inside this building?" Quinn wondered as they walked through the halls. Not that she didn't find the light carpet pretty, but somewhat unpractical.

"Hm, the chances to find her here look higher," Shachi said, eyeing each door they were passing.

They stopped in front of apartment number 34, looking down on the doormat. It was plain black with thin gold linings on each side that was stitched with high quality.

Quinn rang the doorbell and the three of them waited with the, so far, highest curiosity for the person that was going to answer. As long as someone was home. But it took no long and the white door shifted open as a young tall woman stood behind, her appearance notably different from their previous attempt. She had a black bob haircut, green eyes and a petite straight nose with perfectly symmetrical features. Clothed was she in a white blouse with pineapple prints and a discreet cleavage, not too low to see something but to tease. She leaned with a cigar against the doorframe, having either extremely long legs underneath that wide black business pants that only showed the tips of her shoes or high heels.

Taken for a moment by her sensual appearance, Quinn greeted her awkwardly after a big swallow. "Uhm hello! We're looking for Cecilia Boyle."

"In front of you," said she with a light husky voice.

Quinn was never the fan of smoking, especially not inside a building, but in case of this woman it just suited and she could claim she was the sexiest woman she had ever seen only by her radiance. Not perfect, but wow. "Lady, you are very sexy," Quinn voiced her thought aloud, exhaling with widened pupils.

"Quinn," Judy said to remind her what their attendance was supposed to be.

Returning from her astonishment, Shachi showed the picture of Law as she asked, "uh, you, uhh, have you seen this man before?"

She looked at it and back at the trio. "Yeah, I have. Why?"

"We're from the company Shachi Genetics!" the redhead claimed with a friendly smile as the first thing that had come up to his mind, folding both his hands, palm on palm. "For security and health reasons, we're investigating about his history, including sexual history...!"

Quinn laughed and joined his act, though it was somewhat awkward. "Yeah, right, Shachi Genetics, that's us. Not to confuse with Penguin Genetics."

"Sexual history? And why do you need that information?" The woman asked and took a drag off her cigarette.

"Private reasons, nothing he or you have to worry about," Shachi said.

Quinn nodded. "Our work's just really accurate."

Though her expression was flat and unimpressed, showing not much, the skepticism was there. She exhaled out the smoke, mumbling, "I see..."

Taking out a little notepad and a pen randomly, the blonde looked at her with a friendly smile that supposed to look casual but was rather obtrusive. "So, we heard you'd slept with him once?"

"Yes, I did," she replied and her eyes glanced a little down on the moving pen as Quinn started pretending to jot down important information.

The other two shared eye contact, approving their same shocked thought that they probably had found the person they were looking for. The chances were 50-50 though since Law had slept with a number of good-looking women in this town.

"May you share some more detailed info about it with us?"

The woman raised a brow. "More detailed?"

Realizing her bad word choice, Quinn shook her head frantically. "Uhh, not _that_ much detailed...! I mean, no! Not detailed at all, the detailed was regarding something different...!"

"I don't mind details," Judy said.

"No details!" Quinn mentioned again.

Drawing one more on her cigarette, she grabbed a glass ashtray in crystal look (or it was real) from a dresser that stood directly to her right in her apartment. She exhaled the smoke and stub out her cigarette, putting it aside. "Are you something like his friends and wanna know about his first time etc?"

Stucking a moment for words, Quinn took a deep breath from her awe. "You are sexy AND smart, lady...!" she said, completely taken by her.

"I met Trafalgar during my studies. He was quite young but has an interesting charm and aura. Also pretty tall and handsome, despite that I actually didn't like younger guys."

Confused, Shachi narrowed his brows a little. "Uh wait, how old are you?"

"Oh sweety, don't you know that it's not appropriate to ask a woman for her age?"

He blushed by the realization of his goof. "Oh! I'm sorry!"

"I'm 30."

 _30...!_ The trio thought, shocked that she was five years older than Law. Quinn had already wondered why she appeared so mature despite her young appearance. She was the type you would assume to be in her mid to end twenties, but would also believe when she turned out to be older.

Thinking back about those days, she smirked a little amused. "I remember when he told me, he was a virgin; and how his body reacted when he saw a naked woman for the first time _alive_."

Quinn shook her head lightly. "No details please..."

Judy nodded lightly. "Details please."

"He had a great body, well-hung, there was nothing to complain."

"NO details."

"Details."

Cecilia chuckled under her breath, rolling her eyes quite ridiculing about the past facts. "But you have seen quick he was a nerdy virgin."

"A nerdy virgin?" the brunette wondered.

"The way he touched me was like the way he touched a dead body. Not really a turn on."

Remaining quiet for a moment, the three glared at her and soaked the information before they started to suppress their giggles.

"Yeah, I laughed about it too when he was gone," she told and sighed to showcase her disappointment and thought of waste. "And, I don't know, it was pretty bad, and he came way too fast. We never really talked again after that, though he wanted to sleep with me again."

Judy tried to tame her amusement and smiled at Cecilia with expectation to tell more. "Oh, he did?"

"Yeah, I almost had compassion with this kiddo, but then I thought: better not. That was not a man, just an inexperienced kid."

"Interesting," Shachi said.

"Very," Judy agreed.

"This makes him so human," Quinn added. Staying silent for a moment, staring at each other, she lifted the notepad again. "Anyway, thank you, lady! That's it! We're gonna put that to our register, and-"

"Quinn, she knows about our bad lie, you forgot?"

"Oh, oops, okay."

"If you see him, give him my regards," the woman told casual, waving at them lightly as the group slowly drew off.

"Alright, we'll do, thank you!" Shachi said, waving back.

Walking off, Quinn stopped halfway as she had an additional thought. "Oh oh wait! One more question!" She turned to her and smiled weirdly as she asked, "...what's your profession?"

"Forensic doctor."

Standing a little ahead from the other two, one eye rolling, one sighing, Quinn grinned in joy and lifted both her fists. "Ca-ching, 20 bucks!"

* * *

Cecilia Boyle, Law almost had forgotten that name, but he remembered exactly what his first time was like, and also how that woman he lost his virginity to had looked. She was beautiful with her long black hair and green eyes back then, she was the first woman he could remember that had made him feel any real attraction towards the female gender. Her body was not certainly the stereotypical idealized hourglass, she was rather petite, but it was her elegance that had drawn him to her back then. He had no clue how she felt about the sex they had in her dorm, but _he_ had felt good. She hadn't been his 'crush' to that time but was the nearest to one. That she rejected him because he had been a noob was almost logical, it was quite weird to hear that from the others instead of getting it by himself. And it was weird that Penguin remembered that name... but anyway.

Law stood up from a king size bed, shifting the blanket with black silk cover away from his nude body. Getting into his clothes slowly while the moonlight shone through the curtainless window, Cecilia woke up behind him. "When I told your friends to give my regards, I didn't expect you to come over."

"I'm sorry for surprising you," Law replied casually, buttoning up his shirt.

"Ah no no, that was a good surprise," she said and supported her head on her hand as she lay on her side, watching his back. "A very good surprise."

Law stood up as he was completely dressed and grabbed his purse and cellphone, putting it into his pants.

"You became even more handsome Trafalgar," she said and couldn't move her eyes from him, enjoyed it to see him shifting his sleeves up, displaying the black ink, which he hadn't had before, on his olive skin. "As I said, your tattoos suit your body perfectly." Law walked to the entrance door, leaving her alone in her bed. "Are you leaving already?"

"Yeah, my last bus is coming."

She grabbed the blanket and held it in front of her nude body, getting up. "Ah, wait, will we see each other again? You can call me for a next time."

A next time? Law turned the knob and opened the door.

It was only a mischievous smirk he gave her before he disappeared from her place quietly, letting her know that there was no next time.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Phew, that was my longest chapter so far, dunno, they happen to get longer and longer lol. I think beside Quinn/Law interactions, I enjoy writing group interactions the most :D_

 _Anyway, thank you for your answers to my previous question :) Just saying that I won't speed up anything and keep the pace as planned until we all grow old lol._

 _ **Mei** \- I'm split regarding that. I don't mind when stories end after the characters got together, but I also like reading about their relationship development in future. For this story, however, I only can say for now that it's gonna be long hehe. Thanks for your review as always~!_

 _ **Apple Bloom** \- Oh, I hope I didn't disappoint you haha_


	29. Sentimental issues

**29\. Sentimental issues**

It was the smell of cigarettes as Law walked into the staff room, seeing Dr. Dillan alone in the weak but natural lighted room, leaning out of the window. The May evening sky stood as her background, a pink sunset as the clock struck almost eight. She noticed his steps and turned around with a cigarette in her hand.

"Ah, Trafalgar," said she surprised like he had caught her napping, taking the stipe with unsettled hands quickly out of her mouth and butting it out against the outside wall of the building.

Law watched her insecure face as she smiled guilty away from him, throwing the cigarette into the trash can a meter apart from her. "Since when are you smoking again?"

She exhaled out and grabbed both brims of her coat, folding them over each and crossed her arms. "I..., I don't know, since a week?"

"You seem disturbed," said he, eyeing her boundary and antsy behavior.

"I don't wanna smoke," she claimed and took a deep painful sounding breath as if she was not made for it, then breathing it out in an exhausted pace, a wheeple leaving her mouth as well.

"Stress reduction?" Law guessed from her demeanor.

"Y-yeah..." she forced herself to reply before she pushed her head up again with a smile, asking, "how are you? Are you alright? Have you already apply for holidays this year?"

Law adapted to her casualty and walked over to the water suspender, filling a cup. "No. I'm not sure if I'm even gonna attend them."

"I see," she said quietly, not really surprised about it, though it was among her wishes that he was going to apply for them soon before anyone else demanded the best days. Even Christmas was hard for a doctor.

She was not as lively as usual, and it annoyed him a little that she pulled that I-don't-wanna-bother-you-with-my-problems attitude in front of him. "What stresses you?"

Dr. Dillan smiled slightly about his question, the saddened expression on her face not vanishing though. "My husband's having his operation next week," she told and pulled out her cigarette box, lighting a new one with trembling hands. She exhaled out the smoke after she had taken a drag off it, and looked at him. "NSCLC in advance stage."

"So, it was your husband after all on the list." Law remembered to read her surname as he had his conference with the team, arranging surgery plans.

"Yeah," she replied and nestled her elbow in her other hand, which arm she folded over her body. "We dragged through a long adjuvant chemotherapy and he's in a period of remission now."

"Operable patients with bronchial carcinoma are likely to survive the illness, you know that," Law told her, even though factly, with the intention to calm her a little.

"Yes, I know, I know..." she put the stipe between her lips again to draw on it.

"Pretty ironic that you're smoking then," said Law calmly and walked up to her, taking the cigarette out of her hand and drowned it in his cup before he trashed it.

"I'm desperate Trafalgar," she said, her voice turning unsteady. With her, now, freehand, she rubbed her eyes and tried to prevent any tear to drop while her body was shaking in her despair. "I have an eleven-year-old son, who waits every day for his father to come home; how should I tell him when this is not going to happen?"

Law stared at her quietly, watching how she tried to calm herself before she would break out in tears. Many people cry, he had seen a lot of them, but the last time he had seen this woman crying was when she had heard what had happened to him and his home. She was a strong yet so vulnerable all of a sudden. "You're not trusting us surgeons?"

She tried to smile at him but withdrew immediately as she couldn't hold up that lie. "I do, but..."

"Let me take over his surgery then," he said. "You know, my success rate's the highest here."

Her furrowed brows loosened a little from its total rigid of pain and fear, and she pulled her mouth corners up. "No, dear," said she and stepped up to him, looking into his stoic face. "This is too personal for me. If anything's going wrong, I don't want you nor me to feel responsible for it."

She passed him to get to the door, Law not turning over to follow her disappearance. Dr. Dillan, however, tilted one more to him as she stood at the doorway with both her hands in her gown. "But your interventions are miracles though. You're a miracle."

...

Harry Dillan read the name of her husband. Law wasn't sure why it had drawn him so much to his room after his wife had left him alone with thoughts. Perhaps he wanted to check on him out of modesty, checking if his condition was as bad as her tears described. In case, he would take over the operation though as he was convinced that the team would work better upon his lead.

Entering the hospital room after he had knocked and was allowed to, Law stared at an elderly man probably in his 50's. If he remembered correctly, his colleague was something in her mid 40's.

The weak man on the bed next to the window stared at him while the bulbs were turned out, lighting the room idyllic just as the staff room was. "Are you my doctor for next week?" he asked him.

"No. I'm a," Law hesitated for a moment at his next word choice before he continued, "friend of Dr. Dillan."

"Friend? Hm... Law Trafalgar?"

"Yeah."

"My wife has told me a lot about you," said the ill man with husky and idly weak voice. "Are you here to kill me?"

Law remained silent to that strange question, something he hadn't expected him to say.

"I'm just kidding," Harry then said, easing the dead mood with his laugh. His eyes wandered down to Law's finger as he calmed himself. "Your tats, young man, look serious though." He had a humorous way to talk, appearing more relaxed than he had thought. "She told me you're a very talented sprout, a little helpless within society, but actually a very... hm... _lovely_ guy."

 _Helpless within society... That woman,_ Law thought, figuratively sighing by her characterization.

"From where do you know my wife? I mean, of course the hospital, but so close?" he asked and spoke constantly with a mirth voice. He curled his hand and waved Law over, pointing to the chair next to his bed. "Come, sit down boy."

A cheerful type of person that managed Law to do as he was asking him to. He would feel wrong towards Dr. Dillan and her husband if he rejected the jollily wish of a possibly moribund person that did no wrong to him.

Harry was bald under his beanie and had a face in good condition, his attitude concealing what stood before him. "She's very fond of you, sometimes when she talks I think I have a second son," he told, entertained about it.

"My mother used to be friends with her during her one-year internship for her study here in this hospital. She visited us once in my home village, and after I left the village I came to this town, looking for her in the hospital," Law began to answer his question that jutted out of his privacy. He was convinced anyway that the man knew about it already accord to what he just had said.

"She told me, someday a little boy appeared in the hospital all alone, but left right away as she had talked to him briefly."

"Yeah, I just wanted her to know, I was here now."

"Your village was far up north, right?"

"Yeah."

Wondrous about that all, the ill man showed that he was not that well informed about him as Law had expected. "You came here all alone, where were your parents to that time, young man?"

"They-" Law halted himself. Some things were not great to talk or even think about though, no matter how openhearted you were.

Noticing his hesitation, Harry eye-smiled at him. "You don't have to tell me."

For any reason, he felt okay telling him that "they passed away."

He knew about Law being an orphan, but he wasn't sure when the death of his parents had occurred. To hear it from him in delay, and that he had been so young, Harry displayed great compassion. "I'm sorry." And fear. "This must be awful for a child..."

As a dying father of a young boy, it was palpable that he transmitted Law's experienced on his own son, feeling bad to imagine the boy saddened and years later also in hesitation when someone would ask about _him_.

It brought Law back to his prior thoughts as he was still in the staff room, thinking about paying him a visit here. "I've talked to your wife and suggested her to let me do your operation."

Of course, his wife had told him so often what amazing job Law was always doing, he knew all the stories about his qualities in leading a professional team and performing complicated surgeries like he was born to do such. "She doesn't want that, right?"

"Unfortunately," Law confirmed.

"I can understand her, I would choose an elder and more experienced doctor as well," he joked again and then burst into laughter. "Just kidding!"

He somehow reminded Law of someone...

His skill to laugh out loud and cool down fast was indescribably weird to Law, even he was a smirking-serious guy himself. "No, honestly, I can't force myself to live, especially not when I'm just a poop on the hospital bed every day." His gaze wandered with a jittering and slow laugh out to the sky. "As much as it breaks my heart to leave my beloved ones behind, things are how they are. Doesn't matter who operates me."

"You don't believe you'll survive this?"

Rolling his eye up, he sighed as if he was tired of this question but in a humorous way. "I don't believe anything, I'll just let things happen! If God wants me dead, he wants me dead; if not, then not." His head shook in disbelief as he told Law with a ridiculing smile, "my wife doesn't believe in higher mights but only science. What plain woman, right?"

"She believes in miracles."

"Does she?" he queried with big eyes, his surprised a little overdone. Chuckling as he digested his words, he looked down on his ring finger, eyeing the surrounding gold. "Do you know what her definition of miracle is? When things happen that we thought were supposed not to happen. They can occur, but we always talk us into the opposite belief." Law raised a brow. "I met my wife in university, she was 22 back then and me 30. I was her professor in biochemistry, those were two things that spoke against our relationship after society. Age gap and professional relationship." His eyes rolled again as he jokingly ridiculed her, "beside that she was an annoying and arrogant bureaucrat, always searching for rules and facts."

Well, she must have changed over time, she definitely did not sound that uptight anymore.

Harry leaned a little over to Law, curling his finger and told him to come closer (he didn't) to whisper, "we didn't care though, we even made out in one of the seminar rooms, but pssht." Then he leaned back and laughed again. "She said, it was a miracle," his laugh may have ceased but his smile not. "Well, maybe god's punishing us now for that - pfft, as if." Focusing back at Law, seeing his quiet glare at him as a pure listener than teller, he dropped another joke to make him laugh a bit, "you're invited to my funeral, young man - of course only if I die. Just kidding!"

But no. Law found him not funny.

"But really, things are how they are. I tried to tell her and she's just all," he raised the pitch of his voice, mimicking his wife, "ohh nooo, honey, you're so stupid, I know it better, I'm a doctor, you're out of the phase to teach me anything, ohhh." Doing that enjoyed him and he smiled, shaking his head again about the thought of his lovely wife. "Seriously, and I always tell myself then," his eyes moved back to Law, "don't try to teach women, and - sorry, nothing personal - don't teach doctors."

* * *

Quinn was happy to see Luffy opening the door as she rang in the evening, the teacher conference consumed more time than she had thought. He and his family were living in a small house with a backyard and two floors. The small boy took her hand and pulled her inside, telling her that he had waited for her arrival to show her something.

"You're gonna make big eyes when you see what I have created! Dadan and the others are not home yet and Sabo's in his room, working; so I have to keep myself busy," he told her while she followed him stooply, his small hand of his short body holding hers.

 _Still working, huh?_ Quinn thought, wondering if Sabo didn't forget about her visit. However, first, she would check out what the little boy was so eager to show her. It was somehow strange but funny to be at this place, not as his teacher for a parent-teacher talk.

As he had dragged her into the living room, he ran up to a little table and stood beside it, spreading his arms in its direction to present what was lying on it. Quinn was sure it was a big piece of clay, but she wasn't sure what it should portray.

"Woah, clay, you're trying new stuff?" she said, trying to sound fascinated (okay, she was a bit), ignoring that this gray clod could possibly depict something already.

Luffy grinned proudly and nodded. "And? How does it look?"

A forced and helpless smile widened on her face as she felt clueless how to respond to his question. She didn't want to say something wrong, but his sculpturing skills seemed pretty bad as that she would see something in his work, more than just a plain clod. Stepping closer to in and kneeling down, she surveyed it more closely and try to figure out, either what it was or what she could say. "Hm..."

She had an idea. "Do you like it yourself?"

"Yes!"

"And why did you choose that motive?"

Luffy sat down as well, smiling at her as he told in his merriment, "because I like it!"

Awkwardly, she chuckled at his empty answer. "Oh, okay? Uhh, and why?"

"Because meat is delicious!"

Her eyes widened in shock as she glared at the clod again, the bad illustration of a piece meat now recognizable. _I should've known!_

"Ah, Quinn, you're already here," she suddenly heard Sabo's voice across the room and turned around in order to greet him casually.

But. Her heart skipped a beat the first second she glanced at him. There was nothing more adorable than seeing a guy, normally well-dressed, in simple relaxing clothes. He stood at the doorway in jogging pants and a light blue mottled T-shirt, his collarbones and hints of his chest exposed, while he rubbed his messy hair. Quinn tried not to squeal. _Omg, NOW I've seen everything._

"Are you alright? You look kinda outta space," he asked, looking into her perplexity.

"Uh, yeah! I'm alright!" she claimed with a jerk back on her feet, saluting stiffly.

Luffy looked up at her with half-opened mouth before his eyes grew in shock. "Is this your real name?! Teachers have first names too?!"

 _Oh Luffy..._ , the two adults thought, drop-sweating.

His attention span was short though, even when it was about things he started himself. "Sabo, I'm hungry." Luffy grabbed his stomach with a weary face. Yep, his mood changed in a switch, but that was typically him when it came to food.

His big brother seemed nonchalant about it, appearing to muse a little while he scratched his head. "Hm... what about ordering pizza again?"

"Yeah! I love pizza!" he stated with sparkle. Quinn thought it to be a good and uncomplicated idea, watching the little boy running to the phone to hand it over to Sabo, so he could order. "I already head Salami today, now I want chicken!"

Her eyes slitted as she heard that and darted up to Sabo, who was dialing the number of the pizza service. Quinn pressed the red button, stopping him and earned confused looks of both of them. "Ehhh, you can't let a kid eating fast food the whole day."

Not expecting her to act against it, he blinked at her a few times with a smile of little guilt and fluster. "Uhm... well... it's uncomplicated..."

"This is not healthy! You should cook for him something!" she stated with narrowed brows, more playfully disappointed than mad.

"Ah, I had no time to cook, and I still need to finish my paperwork..." he defended, keeping his mouth corners nervously upward.

 _Mooore paperwork? Seriouslyyy?_ Quinn thought, arching her lips since she finally wanted to spend time with him. She sighed and grabbed Luffy, carrying him on her arms. "Well, then I cook something little for him. You want something too?"

"Oh, no no, I'm good," he replied. "That's very nice of you!"

She passed him with the boy in her arms, mumbling, "men."

"Ohh, you cook? What do you cook? Can you make steak for me?" Luffy asked, excited about food as always.

"First let's see what you got," she responded and put the boy down on the chair at the big dining table in the middle of the kitchen. While she was rummaging through the fridge and shelves, a little smile sneaked on her lips as she thought about what she just had said. 'Men' was in no way better than 'women', and made her feel guilty about it as she was scolding Law about his stereotyping every time. The thought was quite amusing that she stuck to it, wondering what he would have said if he had heard her. Probably anything mocking again, either with his flat expression, sly smile or cocky smirk.

Her cooking skills weren't comparable to Judy's, but it was definitely enough to survive without lousy experience on someone's tongue. She made a quick quinoa-chicken salad, putting the meat only inside as the little boy was craving for it, else he wouldn't be satisfied. Then she watched him finishing it neatly, and holy this boy had a bottomless stomach, gobbling portions of four without problems. He became tired instantaneously and fell asleep on the couch in the living room, snoring how she imagined a satisfied and peaceful child.

Standing in the hall and looking up the stairs, she wasn't sure if she should go and look for Sabo, or if he wasn't too busy so that she would only disturb. All in all, she came here, aware that he was busy somehow. Better not then...

"Is he sleeping?" Sabo suddenly asked as she just had turned away to get back into the living room, made her staring upstairs again to see the young man coming down and pulling a cardigan over his top. She nodded and he stopped in front of her. "You wanna leave for a walk?"

"Uhm, we can't leave the house with him alone...," she said, even she would love to; her cheeks getting rosy.

Sabo sighed out and said teasingly, "oh man, of course, primary school teachers and their responsibilities."

"Hehe," Quinn snickered a little with a cheeky smile. "I'm ready to teach all age groups."

"It's fine, I'm ready to be taught. You can never learn enough," he responded smoothly and pointed his head to the back of the house. "Let's go to the backyard, I wanna show you something."

Quinn was blushing after he had said what he had said, following him with her heart pounding a little faster outside in the early evening sky. That's right, the world was billions of years old, you couldn't know anything, you could always learn, and you could always improve.

Outside, a tree house, built on the only tree in the garden, caught her attention with no circuit. "Woah! That's so cool!" she said, surveying the wooden construct with sparkling and envy eyes, her uptilted head not leaving sight of it, completely caught in fascination. "I always wanted a tree house! The kids back then where I lived had one but they never let me in, I dunno why, but I stopped trying after they pushed me down the ladder, but woah! This thing looks much better than theirs! It was smaller and uglier and uhh, c-can we get inside that?! Or is it just decoration? I mean, you know, house, backyard, tree house, pretty cliched, but woah, I love it though!"

He chuckled. "They didn't let you in?"

"Yeah, was not really the popular child, overweight and stuff," she replied and smiled wryly at the thought. "Kids can be so cruel."

"You've been overweight?!" Sabo exclaimed in disbelief, eyeing her up and down.

"Of course," she replied and rolled her eyes with a laugh as a matter of course. "Do you think I started sports and fitness because I thought running's fun? Hell no, I _hated_ running back then."

"Well, there _are_ some people, who think it's fun," he replied, but she was already on her way to the tree to see it up close.

The two then climbed into the tree house. A light bulb was hanging in the middle of the ceiling and on the bottom was a red carpet, covering the part of the floor. There was only one window, showing on the left side of the street behind the fence and on the right, the small house.

Quinn looked outside with amazement, happy about it like a child. "Oh my god, this is so cool."

Sitting down with his back against the wall next to her, he eyed it himself with a nostalgic smile. "Ace and I have built that when we were younger, we spend almost the whole time inside this when we weren't away."

"I probably would've done the same, even sleep!" she replied and sat down as well, her knees pointing to his side.

"We did that too," he told. "This was more our room than our room."

"So cool!"

""Yeah... you know, I'm actually not from this household, but I came over so often that Dadan accepted me in the family on her own."

Quinn had never pushed Sabo to speak about things that private, it got her anxious as he slowly began to do just on his own. She remembered that story since Luffy already had told her, but his motives were still unknown by her. "Can I ask why you stayed away from your real home?"

He smiled slightly. "Segment of society I wasn't satisfied with."

Her brows furrowed and she could only guess what it must have been that a child was unhappy enough to distance itself to somewhere better. "Lower class...?"

Chuckling under his breath as he stared against the floor, he found it almost funny why people always expected the lower class would be his issue. His face tilted to her, catching her compassionate face. "Upper class."

Quinn's face stood quiet for a moment, trying to digest the information until she thought she understood better. "You've joined the Revolutionaries because you're against the unfair possession and exercise of power because you have seen the bad side first hand and seek for freedom without the judgmental influence to someone's social status..."

"Right," he confirmed and laughed a little. "Not a bad summary."

"I'm so sorry for this... I always thought, having much money's something great," Quinn said, feeling suddenly guilty for spending money on any type of luxury.

Sabo noticed that and he loosened the low mood with a comforting laugh. "You don't have to feel bad, you're doing nothing wrong. In this capitalistic world, we're living in the middle class, and if you're not some greedy jackass, you have the right to live the life that makes you happy."

"But other people-"

"Other people don't wish you bad and wanna take your luck. Of course, what you have now's for them luxury like for us someone, who's owner of a mansion with too much unused space. But as long as you don't turn a blind eye on suffering people, being aware and cherish what you got, your heart's far from rotten."

Rotten was a strong word; he must really contempt his origin. It gave him more depth as a person, made him in many ways to an existence Quinn could value more than she had before. People were a product of their past, and even raised in a spoiled society, he managed to swim against the stream and found his own definition of right and wrong. "You're amazing, Sabo."

Rubbing his neck with a shy smile as he heard that, he looked back ahead and tried to distract from that compliment by telling more about what he knew and disliked about the upper class and his opinion on life; he was kind of funny and kind of philosophical, Quinn really enjoyed it. Watching him talking about many different things, his relaxed and happy face never fainting away, making her heart beating rapidly. The longer she stared, the more her ears turned off as her eyes focused on his smiling lips of his ever talking mouth.

Should she, or should she not? It felt like a never forward moving story if she backed off and did nothing, though she actually always had wished that the male part was the one to make first steps. Quinn had always dreamt more of a guy that took the lead, approached her, or protected her. Was that because she was scared? Because she rather waited until the guy was sure instead of herself in order to prevent awkward and uncomfortable moments from _her_ side? Whatever the reason was, why it was so cliched that the guy should take the initiative; she felt like a coward, sitting and waiting for anything to happen only when _he_ started. She wanted that kiss.

Sabo tilted his face to her as he asked a question, which she overheard anyway. Not able to keep her patience, she caught her body on her hands as she leaned forward and pushed her lips against his.

It was a quiet moment outside in the tree house, and she was realizing what she just had done and pulled back with big shocked eyes, her face reddened as embarrassment steamed up her head.

She saw it took him by surprise, not definable if positive or negative, made her heart palpitating with panic, questioning if it was stupid. "I-I..."

"Quinn...," he said with soft voice, surprised about her sudden move while his dark big orbs glared at her, unsure what to say.

Her brows furrowed strongly by the realization that he wasn't out for a kiss at all. "Was that stupid? Yes, it was. Right? I'm so sorry. I-I dunno what happened to me. It's-"

God, she felt so dumb now. Taking the initiative, who had told her that? She must have ruined everything because she was freaking impatient; but if not now, _when?_ Quinn had doubt when Sabo wasn't that interested in her that he would be later. It was a hit or miss situation, and she clearly was convinced to had missed the target, god she could punch herself now.

She pressed her back against the wall, pulling both legs closer to her body to hug them in her shame. "I'm so sorry, please forget that..."

"Quinn."

Her heart throbbed as he said her name again, suddenly so serious that it was scary. She looked down to her knees, feeling the discomfort raising in her. "I-I can leave now if you want...! This, uhm, yeah...! My bus drives regularly...!"

Sabo got on his knees and shifted over to her, now to her front. She felt his presence but had no guts to look into his face after what she had caused, hiding it in her knees.

"Don't go."

For a moment, her heart stopped to pump, a squeezing feel lingered within her chest. Sabo grabbed her head and lifted it slowly, made her facing him inadvertently. She rarely saw him looking serious, she always had him smiling or with any sort of harmless shock or confusion in mind. But well, Sabo was no doll, as shown before had he deep sides as well that marked him as human. His hands were wrapped around her face, his thumbs grazing her cheekbones while she tensed the skin on it.

"How serious are you about this?" he asked, looking with so much profundity into her eyes.

She pulled her lips to a tensed straight line as she thought about his question, unsure how she should answer. If she was honest with herself, she couldn't really answer it yet. In spite that she was feeling something for him, Quinn was in question if he was still just a crush or if she had already fallen for him at any time, maybe this. Her circulatory accelerated when she was with him, her mind was dazzled when she thought about him, his presence made her see the world like a big pink cotton candy; it could be anything. "I don't know..."

As her eyes drifted away, he moved his face closer to her until she locked with him again. "I don't know either."

And when he was saying stuff like that, it hit her. So, why couldn't she tell yet? Was it too early to fall in love? And even if, should that stop them from trying? "Sabo, I... if you don't feel like giving this a chance to develop, please say it now..."

He seemed to hesitate, she wondered what was going through his mind, what was holding him back. Were it the same things that made _her_ unsure? Or something else? His gaze moved down to her lips, his own pressing tensely together.

She closed her eyes. If it was going to happen, fine; if not, also fine.

Quinn felt the tension in his hand, how his hand throbbed against her skin as he was within the thoughts of his decision The longer it took for him, the more frustrated she became; she _wanted_ that kiss. And as she felt his warm breath moving closer to her face, her hands tightened in nervosity and excitement while she tried to keep a constant pace of her breathing, trying not to expect anything while she awaited his decision.

His lips were softer than she had thought of a guy, also his kisses. But, she had thought kissing was different from kissing her ex-boyfriend, more dreamily, more emotions, maybe tasting like cotton candy, but it was not that much different though. Still, it was Sabo, and that thought made everything sweeter than the actual act was. Way sweeter, crush, love, what's the difference? It was an intimate moment she shared with someone she liked, and she enjoyed it very much.

"Oiii, Sabooo!"

Their lips parted and they shared close and blank eye contact with each other as Luffy's voice sounded from beneath, interrupting the moment. God, what a timing that boy had. Following with a giggle from both sides, they backed off quickly before raven hair raised from the darkness outside, crawling into the tree house.

In his left hand grasped a phone, and Luffy's face showed big joy. "Ace's coming next month!"

Sabo's eyes flashed in sort of surprised, blinking in disbelief about his announcement until the little boy handed over the calling device. Slumping on his buttocks and change to a tailor-fashion seat, he held it against his ear. "Hello?"

Ace... that was the third brother, right? Anyway, great reason to interrupt them... (It was just half irony, the reason was really great). It pulled a satisfied smile on her lips as she watched Sabo communicating happily through the phone with his brother. Things, in the end, had turned different from what she had painted in her mind, but the result was heart flattering though, giving her a good emission of endorphin.

"Miss Heady, what were you two doing here?"

"Uhhh... talking..."

* * *

Law was standing at the bus station of the hospital as he was finally done with work. Looking up to the sky, it was almost dark outside, around nine o'clock. His actual plan was to head home, but he could remember that the others were going to meet up in the bar. When it weren't only his two companions, he could be sure that the night out a little for one or two drinks was okay, since they weren't just on the hunt for any possible hookup that night.

The night express tended to be more punctual than those lines over the day or in the morning. As he stepped inside the awaited bus, buying a ticket at the front, his eyes caught sight quickly with those little blonde waves on the long seat at the other end of the transport. Quinn was resting with her head against the window before she paid attention to the front as she noticed someone was coming towards her. Her bemused face looked up at him and she slowly straightened, smiling a little. "Oh, Doc."

"Peanut," he greeted back. He hadn't expected to see her on this bus line before him since her apartment such as the stops in the city center were before the hospital. So she came from somewhere else.

"I forgot, you're banned to drive this month," said she and watched him taking place casually next to her. "It's funny to see you taking the bus."

"Funny? Does it look like some circus performance to you?" he asked, but only for the matter of answering her.

"Circuses doesn't have to be funny."

He changed his question to "clown performance?"

She placed one fingertip to her lips, scanning him briefly. "Hm... No, I think your tan is too dark for a clown, not to forget your humor."

"I never said I had found that joke funny," he claimed nonchalantly.

"I bet your sense of humor's still anything but white." Her eyes drifted away as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe yellow..."

"Maybe," Law responded simple and stared against the bus' windshield, following the ever more dark drowning route they were taking. Ever since he had a car, taking public transports became less and less a matter of course to him, it made his movement from A to B kind of strange because it gave him a based of discomforting dependency. Not that he questioned it every time he sat inside one, he accepted it and always took a bus earlier to work in case of unwanted circumstances; but he questioned the chances to bump into that blonde next to him. This town has several bus lines, he didn't even know how many as he normally didn't care. That she had to take this one today was a funny coincidence and forced them somehow to spend time with each other.

Of course, he could also take any seat away from her, but what he knew about that girl was that she would have approached him anyway, especially as she seemed to be in the mood to talk. "You seem like that type of guy that laughs during a serious operation because you think it's fun."

"Maybe."

"Woah, I would like to witness that, it's like some good psycho-thriller. Lying there and staring into your creepy gaze while you fiddle on my poor body. Too painful though."

"Plexus anesthetic."

"Hm?"

He kept his gaze to the front while he was sitting with crossed arms next to her. "If you're performing surgery, it doesn't mean you have to be fully narcotized but only the part that needs the treatment."

Quinn's head pointed up to him in light shock. "What? That's super scary."

"The patient can be provided with light sleeping pills though," he added.

She didn't hide her missing understanding in medical interventions as her sight at him minimized by her skepticism. "And why not anesthetizing the patient completely from the beginning?"

Law glanced at her sideways. "Every general anesthetic risks impairment to health, so it should be avoided if possible."

Leaning her head back comfortably, she looked up kind of thoughtful. "Hm, I see... that's scary."

"To be awake or to be fully anesthetized?"

Her eyes moved to him. "Both?"

"Luck for you, during heart surgery you won't notice anything," he told her pretty carefree since it was a fact that she would be knocked out if he operated her heart. But fact or not, she somehow seemed insecure about it, her eyes stared ahead with tight pressed lips that trembled for a further commentary she held back. It was not hard to guess though what bothered her mind right that moment. "Is the reason why you're not going, fear?"

She looked stiff about the question. "...Yes."

"Your fear of an operation's bigger than your fear of dying any moment?" Law question and to emphasize how silly he thought that was, he added "painful."

"...Yes," Quinn answered again and her brows turned to overreacted worries. "I mean, what if my mind happen to wake up during the operation and I feel how you doctors fiddle on my body? Or what if I get in with the expectation to wake up later but actually die, leaving everything and everyone behind?"

"The chances for you to wake up during an OP's very low since there're specialists for anesthetics in the theater during the whole procedure. And I doubt you will notice when you're dead."

She turned to him. "And what if I become a ghost? Seeing everything people are doing after I passed away and not able to communicate? Huuh?"

"Peanut." Crossing his legs, Law's front also shifted to her, his arm spread along the backrest of her seat, enclosing her from one side. "I wouldn't let you die."

Her sight only graced his sudden arm barrier and she felt weird about it as not even Sabo had laid his arm around her seat in the movie theater. Even embarrassed about his comforting words, she tried to maintain a strong and skeptical look into his almost bored-looking face. "Who says you're the one operating me?"

"I'm a senior staff member in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, I guess I can decide easy whom I'm treating."

She slimmed her eyes, staring at him pensively and spoke out her next words as she reduced pace and shortly volume, half serious and half joking, "wait... could it be that you're an _alien_?" He didn't say much, actually nothing, to her silly question that was legit though as she got more precisely. "You are a _general practitioner_ , a _heart surgeon_ , and you're _still_ able to perform surgery on _other_ parts of the human body such as Penguin's _arm_?'

"Things are how they are," Law responded as if it was nothing special.

" _And_ you're 25. What's your position in the hospital really? Dr. Super?"

"Cardiothoracic surgeon."

"But- why?" She didn't understand his current position in the hospital at all and appeared almost frustrated as his answers were so vacuous.

"The local hospital lacks on physicians, that's why," he told her straight as if everyone knew that reason.

"And you wonder why you're never able to rest an eye?" she said, unimpressed. "I knew doctors have a hard life, but you're making yours harder."

"I _save_ lives," he said with a small mocking smile.

Confused about his statement like he had laid his focus on his being on that since she knew he was not according to his words initially said upon, Quinn couldn't help but blush somewhat irritated. "Y-you don't care about that anyway."

And he just confirmed her knowledge about him bluntly. "Certainly." Law was educated in medicine as long as his memories reached back, his parents had been physicians and he always wanted to follow those assiduously. His profession was rather mere interest in that field than any compassion.

"Creeeeep," Quinn said. "Your salary must be super high."

"If you're civil you don't talk about money, especially in public."

"Pff, this is just an average subject too. Money's everywhere, no reason to be modest about," she stated somewhat sarcastically and seemed like making a little fun of him. "I mean, your car's not like yelling 'I've got enough to survive'. What are you spending your money on anyway? According to the other twos, definitely not holidays."

"I don't have to spend it on anything," he told her calmly.

Not sure if she understood correctly, she tilted her stiff head a little as she asked, "you mean it just gathers on your bank account?"

Law leaned a little closer to her. "Do you want me to get rob or anything, or are _you_ trying to rob me?"

"Ah, no no, I'm sorry...," she replied and backed a little off from him, waving with her hands between them with a nervous smile. As he straightened again to look with his lazy smile back to the front, she eyed his face just to see the results of his bad working pattern. "No but seriously, you should take some days off."

"I wouldn't know what I would do else than sleeping during days off."

"Maybe those shadows under your eyes will disappear?" she said and narrowed her brows suddenly as her mind produced a possible picture of it. "Whereby... woah, that would be very strange, you without your shadows. This is what makes you, you, you know what I mean?"

"Stop talking so much nonsense, Peanut."

"This _has_ sense," she noted and nodded convinced. "Anyway, you as a doctor should know best that sleep's really important."

He sighed weakly, not fond about this topic since he _knew_ he needed more sleep. "My body can't sleep more than six hours straight per day anyway."

"But last time you've slept around ten hours," Quinn said muddled.

"Believe me, I was surprised too."

"Hm... then you can take days off on those days we listed yesterday. You surely won't be just sleeping then. I mean, it's not just physically, you also need a mental break."

Taking holidays was something he did either sparely or not at all. He wasn't even quite sure why he never did that, perhaps because he's too lazy to apply those? Or he just felt weird to be unproductive? Who knew, but they were all right, he indeed needed some break, he was eventually no superhuman or sleepless alien after all.

Quinn was staring into his eyes while his mind was lost with his train of thoughts, realizing her blue orbs on him then that expected an answer. "Let's see."

Why did it always had to be her that made tiny changes in his life?

Leaning laterally closer to him with cheeky eyes that looked up his face, both her fists on her lap with straight stern arms, her shoulders moved up with a wide grin, she said, "you can pay us all a nice holiday trip."

Law raised a brow, his face tilted a little down to her, her blonde head almost cuddled to his shoulder, that close was she being annoying (quotation mark). "Give me a reason to pay _you_ something."

"I was just kiddiiiing," she responded and leaned back. "I'm not that poor to ask anyone to pay me something, in fact, I have a part," she put with both hands an imaginary mountain of money to the side, "that needs to be spent on clothes if I ever get the chance to do so hoho."

"The more I get to know you the more girly you become in my eye."

"This is not girly, this is normal; people, needs, clothes."

"I guess you're the type to shop for things on sale only due to the fact it's on sale," said he and mumbled with mocking intentions, "waste of money..."

"I'm not! I spend most of my money on art supply that makes me very happy," she claimed with a grumpy face. Her hand grasped the brim of his shirt, pointing out the small label tag of it that was sewed on the side. "Different to other people, huh?"

He glanced at her, unimpressed that she tried to mock him with the possession of more expensive clothing. "Fact is that this shirt accompanies my life for years."

Smiling sarcastically, she let go of it and pulled her own shirt down. "Fact is, this shirt accompanies _my_ life for years now and I paid only ten bucks for it."

"I see..." He eyed it with laziness, but couldn't help noticing the shape of her body, those smooth abs on that slim waisted body looking through the thin and tight stretchy fabric of the tank top she wore underneath her open shirt. You could say she was dressing like that on purpose to display her positive features, but Law doubt that because she was also someone who happily jumped around with an oversize sweater, not caring if she looked kinda like a trash bag (that's how he got to know her first). Maybe he just interpreted too much into that because _he_ found it provocative; there are plenty of women who walked around with tight shirts.

"Are you staring on my chest?" Quinn deadpanned.

His face tilted back to the front. "Don't be so paranoid." There was way more to stare at than just her chest (but things she better shouldn't know).

"Joooooke."

"However, money comes and goes. _Our_ existence doesn't need to worry about it."

"How about donating some then?"

"To?"

"I dunno, there are enough organizations, just pick the best," she said with a soft smile, obviously something that she was sincerely fond on. "As a doctor, how about donating it to science? It would surely help with their researches on new technology or maybe incurable diseases."

New technology and... incurable diseases...

Shifting her eyes aside, she sculpted a shell with her hand, whispering to him like some unethical secret, "my favorite are the Revolutionaries."

"Why am I not surprised?" said he flatly.

With rose index finger, which she wiggled left-right repeatedly, she smiled and said, "it's not because of Sabo."

"But?"

"It's the biggest non-profit organization which goals I think are quite efficient."

Law raised a brow. "And what makes them different, besides being big?" He might be read in some political issues around the world, but all those organizations were unfamiliar to him.

"Well, they are... how should I explain... Ah!" Showing both her palms to the top, she turned herself to a scale, comparing the differ she was explaining. "You have to imagine it like a disease. Many organizations are like medications, fighting symptoms; and the revolutionaries are like surgeons, fighting causes. You know what I mean?"

Subtly surprised about her example, he asked, "did you come up with this alliteration because I'm a doctor?"

"Yesss," Quinn answered and made a peace sign on one hand, chuckling a little.

He looked back to the windshield, briefly up to the display to check how many stops were left, and a little relaxed smile formed his mouth. It was not like he wouldn't have understood it without that comparison, but he liked that she even considered something like that.

Quinn, on the other hand, was busy with other, quite random things in her head as she stared into nothing while humming during her line of pointless thoughts. "Hm... If I would be a doctor, I would be a veterinarian."

"Suits you," Law commented flatly.

She looked back at him. "Can a surgeon for humans actually operate animals and vice versa? Like in extreme situations?"

"Depends. If you exclude exotic animals, the anatomy of, for example, a dog or a pig, resembles the human body, thus might be treated in extreme situations. But physicians are generally not trained in animal's health pattern, hence they wouldn't know the consequences differ. I doubt cancer's curable on a hamster like on a human; or a broken leg on a horse."

"Hmmm, not even you as an alien?"

"Aliens aren't almighty."

"I was kidding," she stated with an amused laugh about his stiff answer. "I just like hearing you talking about your scary life as a physician."

His gaze turned back to her, brow arching as he didn't really get her words and made him feel awkward about it. "Like?"

"I dunno, it makes you so... more... sympathetic," she explained, vaguely sure about her wording. "Like, I dunno, it makes you so human aside from your usual flat and emotionless way. I mean, you still talk like you give a damn about anything, but I dunno, it's just different, you know?"

"Are you flirting with me?"

Her smiling face changed to deadpan. "Definitely, any time."

"You have a bad way to flirt."

And switched soon to embarrassed madness. "I'm not flirting...! Give me a reason to flirt with _you_."

He looked casually back front, carrying a mocking smile on his lips. "Right, I forgot, you're dating this other guy."

"Yeah, I do!" Quinn said, pulling the skin under her eye down with her finger and showed her tongue.

"Very sweet."

"Oh, my, god. You're so making fun of me."

"Well observed."

Her shoulders lapsed and she stared at him with half-lidded eyes. "You don't take this even seriously right?"

Like he was disinterested, he yawned into his hand as he said, "yeah, feels like some teenage romance to me."

Quinn folded her arms and moved her body back parallel to her seat, still staring at him with the stagnant expression. "How do _you_ know anything about romance?"

"Obs-"

"Ah," she interrupted. "Don't say observation and logical conclusion."

Well, that was indeed what he had wanted to say.

"I can tell you, your pattern failed for the kiss on the third date." She leaned her head somewhat closer to him again, walling her lips lightly with her fingers, making an 'oh-oh' stare as she whispered in mock-secret, "we kissed on the _fourth_."

Why was his opinion damn split about that information? He was curious to want to hear it but also annoyed that she had to tell it. His languid attitude looked back front and he got up as he heard the bus driver calling the next station that was theirs. "Well, I said, the average," he claimed and walked to the door, showing his little care for her gossip.

Quinn got up as well and followed him, adding nothing more to it but kept a playful attitude. "Bloooop."

They left the vehicle at the bus station, just a few meters from the bar where the others must be already waiting. Their word exchanges weren't big on those last few meters, or at rather, Law wasn't making them big as he let that blonde babble without responding much to it. He couldn't even follow properly what she was talking about, since she cut herself off so much to mention side-thoughts or started another subject.

Casually, they were walking next to each other until Quinn stopped in a small distance to the bar door while he kept his pace.

"Trafalgar."

Law made halt and turned as she called his name in low pitch. She was looking at him with a face, unsure if she should say what she wanted to say. He expected nothing, as serious as she was acting, so he stared back at her and waited for her to continue her sentence or steps.

Quinn's gaze drifted swiftly aside as she inhaled deeply and then moved back to him. It was really not the first time she was thanking him for anything and though, she felt hard about it any time, gathering her false pride just to throw it away in front of him. "You know, I've been waiting for him to kiss me because I'm too shy myself. And even when I gave signals and hoped it to happen, I hoped it to happen quickly without me noticing the transition." She laughed a little. "Well... I was actually kinda scared of it, but as you told me in the hospital to stop being a coward, it... opened my mind a little."

"So, you spent time thinking about my words? Is that what you wanna say?" he asked with a brow lightly rose.

Quinn stepped closer and looked at his face. "I wanna say thank you for kicking my ass. Otherwise, it wouldn't have happened today."

Her eyes drew to the ground, smiling a little awkwardly before she looked back up to him and took a step forward to give him a hug. Not that he had never been hugged by a woman before, in fact, those several even hugged him naked; but _her_ _own_ initiative caused a weird breath strangulating moment of surprise, startle and joy. It was a fight not to wrapped his own arms around her, returning it. Law had taken the 'thank you', but hadn't expected her to get any kind of physical towards him and rather had expected that it would be a punch or slap he'll ever get to experience from her side.

Her blonde head backed off slowly and she looked up at him, seeming somewhat uncomfortable as she smiled a little shy but crooked. "Well, yeah... that was a 'thank you' hug of mine."

He smirked and chuckled lightly. "What honor to receive such."

Sheepishly, she brushed her hair behind her ear while staring to the side. "Well... it's not like I give those rarely, it's just-"

"Me," Law finished her sentence and her eyes moved briefly back to him.

"R-right... You... Sorry."

"Say Peanut..."

Quinn stared, awaiting clueless his question.

"Where are we standing now?" he said and her brows lifted, not sure what he meant. Law shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants, casually in posture and gave her a relaxed smile. "Are we passing our truce and are ready to conclude a peace treaty, or what can I interpret from your hug?"

Her lips parted to a tiny gap with the attempt to say something before she withdrew in her uncertainty, overthinking what she could possibly answer. "You know... at war, not fighting each other but even sending them secret information for the next expedition against their common enemy doesn't necessarily mean peace."

"Then tell me what we are fighting for to be at war."

She glared at him, stuck for an answer, and he saw that, knowing that she knew he was right. It started with her 'hating' him, bearing each other's presence, though _he_ had been enjoying hers the whole time. Law saw no point in being in defense towards each other, not that he would ever stop teasing her, he just would like to clarify that term 'truce' that made her sounding like she would still despise him deeply, suffering under his attendance.

"You're right, this is a targetless war," she said with a small laugh about the fact. Her hand clasped behind her and she tilted her head a little down to her shoulder. "Buuut, let me think about it first."

"I mean, we can even return to war if you want," he joked.

"Oh, you want that? No problem," Quinn replied with no worry.

Law opened the bar door, an orchestra of voices echoing through the air, and his head pointed inside to lead her the way. "Go and spread your good message to the others."

"Huh? I never said I wanna tell them," Quinn said with pink cheeks.

"Of course you don't want," he said in deadpan.

Her face colored a little more and she rubbed her neck in shyness again, a happy smile carving her face. "Well, yeah... okay... maybe... tehe."

Moving inside when he held the door open, Law looked after her as she walked ahead, eager to tell her girl friend about those news. She seemed excited like he knew women sometimes were when they had to babble about any sentimental issues, her smile didn't even faint for a second as she walked to the booth where Shachi, Penguin and Judy were sitting, noticing their arrival, casual and with joy. She took place as expected next to the brunette, her happiness staying on her face while she listened to the bunch talking and then questioning about her date. With blushing cheeks, she told them slowly in her usual embarrassed but happy manner and the group's eyes widened in cheer about her story. Kissing was not a big thing to any of those three, Law knew that, but it was to _her_ and it made her genuinely happy.

And for the time being, Law was okay that _he_ wasn't the one to cause her that happiness.


	30. Polaroid

**30\. Polaroid**

It was not that long ago as Quinn had started to cherish the little things in life, enjoying every positive moment she came across and seeing life as a big joke, but in a sense that made her happy instead of laughing at it in defiance. And it was like a big coincidence that she ended up in the bar with those four together, having a good time as they treated it as the most casual thing. And they were all actually so different, in personality, humor and ethic, yet they were sitting together at the table and shared thoughts. Quinn wasn't even sure how it developed into this, that they agreed on meeting up together in the late evening.

Her eyes wandered over to Law who was focused on Shachi's detailed story about how they managed to find his first time. It was weird to believe that she had been disliking that man not even a month ago. Things had changed around easter in this very bar. Still, she wasn't sure how to consider their relationship yet; if it was trustful enough to call them friends as she did with the other two.

She moved out of the booth to order something to drink, walking straight around the corner to the bar. Getting closer to the bartender, who was polishing glasses, their eyes met briefly and he smiled, amused.

"Quinn, nice to see you here," he said. "I thought you won't come again after Judy's incident."

She took seat on the empty stool in front of him, hanging with her elbows on the counter while her hands made a light fist she leaned her face onto. "Uff, that's over two weeks ago, no one will recognize me."

Milo chuckled a bit. "They were probably too drunk themselves."

"Yop." She grabbed the drink menu and checked it out. "Can you give me a Ginger Ale?" Without much saying, he opened the bottle and shifted it to her with a straw inside. Quinn took and drank from it, looking at a box in the back that was filled with random clutter to the top. "What's this box? Found items?"

He turned to it and back to her. "Yeah, things customers forgot in the bar and never picked up. We're gonna start an auction for it in an hour or so."

"Ohhh! That's cool!" she replied with big eyes, curious about the content. "I love auctions like this, it's so interesting to see what others carried around."

"Yeah, maybe there's something in yer interest too."

She smiled and gazed at the box. "Would be super cool, I used to purchase stuff by auctions a lot when I was younger."

"Oh, so an expert?" he joked.

"Not really, just luck," she replied and both laughed.

Milo watched her taking the bottle and breathed through the straw to create some bubbles like a child. "Say, this guy you came in with..."

Quinn's eyes moved up to him. "Trafalgar?"

He sighed a little and folded his arms over the wooden surface, looking into her questioning and innocent face. "What's yer relationship with him?"

"Oh, ah, only acquaintances," she replied and then added with a smiling eye roll, "well, actually, he is or was my doctor."

"Doctor?"

As she leaned a little forward to him, Milo's ear lent to her with his head tilted, Quinn whispered, "I just heard he finished his studies with 19, can you believe that?"

The bartender was surprised and straightened back. "19?"

"Yeah, a senior staff member at the local hospital now. A wonder kid," she told then, casually.

"I see... a doctor," he mumbled. "Ya ladies like those typa guys, right?"

Not quite understanding, she asked with an uncertain smile, "excuse me what?"

"Doctors, lawyers, all those next level guys."

"Oh, ahh, no no, he's, he's not my type," she stated and looked down, laughing awkwardly. "I mean, not my _type-type_ , he's really handsome, and yeah, but uhm, there're lots of handsome men, so actually not worth to mention. I mean, really, the look of somebody means nothing anyway, right? Everyone's beautiful in their own way and all the blah blah, so yeah, well, character-wise not my type." Pressing her lips together to a discreet smile, her eyes shifted back to the bartender. "We just happen to know each other and I'm befriended to his friends, so nope, nothing serious."

Hearing her opinion lifted Milo's brows, somewhat relieved as their situation was cleared. "Ah, I see... saw you two came in together and was just kinda worried. Sorry then."

"Worried?"

"Yeah, heard nothing good about him months ago, now and then with another hookup, you know? Those types," he replied with upward turned lips, his eyes not touched from it. "Don't want you to get around with the wrong guys."

"Aww, you're so sweet Milo!"

He snickered a little. "I dunno, my ma had bad experience with those guys, heartbreakers, must have burnt into my head."

"Hm... I think he says beforehand there'll be nothing serious," she said and added as fact, "it's way more heartbreaking to get dumped by someone that gave you hope than by someone who refused from the start anyway."

"You're right, but though, be careful, don't hang out too much with those typa guys, sweety."

"Uhh, he's not that bad. A great friend when you reached him."

"Hm. If you say so, I believe you."

"I didn't like him before too, so if you still wanna live out the contempt, I do understand." She gave the bartender a warm smile then. "But honestly, don't waste energy and time on people you got nothing to do with. I like you more positive, Milo!"

"One beer."

Milo and Quinn's gazes turned to Law who stood behind the bar stool next to the girl, ordering his drink halfheartedly in tone and look. She couldn't help but felt like he had heard the last part of their conversation, though neither he nor she should care about it.

"Sure." Milo bent down to get a cold beer bottle, opening it and place it in front of Law on the bar counter. He paid the drink with the exact amount, so that Milo took the cash and mind his own business, serving other customers a few stools farther.

Still, Quinn felt a tiny burn of guilt that she had talked bad behind his back, even when he knew anyway what she was thinking since she made no secret out of it. And his flat expression was not new either, so she wondered what was different that made her questioning his comfort for that moment. She actually had said nothing bad.

Law sat down on the seat next, leaning one arm over the counter with the beer bottle grasped in his hand while his front was tilted to her. "Why are you hanging here all alone?"

She lay with her head in her hand above the surface as well, smiling a little. "Miss my company over there?" Amused, he gasped out with a small smirk. "By the way, I totally forget it, but I'm surprised you made it today, why aren't you at work?"

He pulled the pager behind his jeans out and put it on the surface between them. "Work's always with me."

Her eyes glanced down on it and back to him. "Poor guy."

"What about you? Not staying at your new boyfriend's place?"

Wryly, she curled her lips up and her gaze passed him. "I don't think we can call us boyfriend-girlfriend now..."

Law took a gulp of his drink and her eyes wandered back to him. He put the bottle down and looked at the label, smirking slightly. "So you _do_ kiss any guy?"

"We're _dating,"_ Quinn noted to remind him there was nothing wrong with having that kiss. "Why are you always looking for flaws in my logic?"

"I wouldn't look for flaws if there weren't always a few."

"A few?" Leaving her clueless only with a sly smile, she felt mocked and narrowed her brows. "Hey, tell me."

"Why do you wanna hear them, when you don't agree anyway?" Law asked, enjoying how unpleased she was about his statement.

"So I can weaken them," Quinn responded matter-of-factly, but only received the same expression as an answer. "Urgh, that sly smile."

He was such a weird guy, always loved to mock others, she neither understood his way of thinking nor his personality in general. He was bad but good to the same...? If Sabo was the hero, Law was surely the anti-hero. He was drowned in negativity and though, he was someone Quinn somehow managed to get along with. He was flawed, just as she was.

"You know what? I don't care if you see me full of flaws," she said as she straightened on the bar stool, showing him her carefreeness. "I don't need to know."

He chuckled, watching her focusing her drink as she breathed into the straw again. Her eyes moved back up to him as he said, "I wouldn't be able to list them all anyway."

Letting go of the plastic, her lids sank half over her orbs. "You're provoking me, don't you?"

"To do what?"

"To... punch you."

"Right, that's what I always wanted," he responded dry and sarcastically.

Amusement washed over her face. "Hey, who knows if you really don't have a fetish of being submissive?"

"What if?"

Not expecting his counter question, Quinn glared at him wordlessly and imagined a rather uncomfortable picture, chained like a dog around his neck. "...That would be weird." He returned her silent glare, caused her eyes to slit as she questioned somewhat in mistrust, " _do_ you...?"

Law was anything but the submissive type, she could only tell by looking at him. Even the way he talked let him appear as someone who enjoyed showing his dominance to every situation, owning scene to scene. No, a submissive Law was even cringey, it would turn everything he said and did to ridicule. Whether it's good or bad, he stayed the cocky dominating type.

His face drifted to the side and he covered his mouth lightly, giving off another quiet chuckle.

"Are you making fun of me...?" Quinn asked as she was not sure how to sort his reaction.

"Flaw number one, uncontrollable curiosity," Law said with a teasing and confident smile before he drank from his bottle.

She arched a brow to his statement. "Is that a flaw?"

"If it's annoying, sure," he responded, "and yeah, it is sometimes."

Quinn pulled out her purse and put the money for her drink on the bar counter. "Milo, I put the money here, just keep the rest," she called out and got down from the bar stool, smiling into Law's face. "Your flaw number one, uncontrollable _confidence_."

As she went back to the booth, he inhaled, smiled a little entertained and left the spot as well.

...

The group was talking about random and quite irrelevant subjects, enjoying their time as they were waiting for the auction to start. Quinn was a little absent, staring constantly into space instead of being involved much into their conversations. She thought about what Sabo had said today and why he was so unsure about them. Was it because he would be gone in a few months, thus they would have to deal with distance relationship? Else there was no other reason for her to explain it, he was just not sharing much about his thoughts. Or not detailed enough.

Judy looked at her from the side as the blonde sighed quietly. "What is, Quinn?"

"Meh... I feel weird about Sabo..." she replied, her eyes on her lap.

Surprised, her friend raised a brow. "Weird? What do you mean by weird?"

Quinn looked at the brunette with a soulless smile "I'm afraid that it's not working. He won't stay here forever, I don't even know when he's leaving."

"Do you think he's serious with you?"

"I hope?" she responded and a small frustrated snicker left her. "I'd be okay with temporal distance relationship..."

"Don't," the two suddenly heard and turned their faces to Penguin who had been listening with one ear to their little dialogue. "I think one out of three can handle a distance relationship, it'll be lots of work, lots of patience and lots of loneliness."

"Stalker," Judy joked with half-lidded eyes and he smiled sheepishly.

"Distance relationship? You mean because of Sabo?" Shachi asked, now the rest of the group's attention also fixed on them.

Quinn blushed a little and looked uncertain away from the round. "Okay, now y'all make me feel stupid."

"Listen, I've been living in the hell of distance relationships, and it just didn't work out because we were young and had no plan where and when we'd see each other again every day. You may know you'll stay here, but do you know about his goals? His circumstances don't allow him to settle down yet," Penguin said.

"Last time he was gone for six months, before that, it were two years..."

Penguin smiled to comfort her. "I mean, it might work for you! I just want you to be aware of it."

"Pen said once, he'd rather choose the crazy," Shachi told with a teasing snicker.

Looking annoyed at the redhead, he sneered somewhat, "what? For me, it was hard."

Quinn crossed her arms over the table and rested her chin. "Hm... I would go with him then?"

"How can you state to leave everything behind so easily for a guy you just met?" Law asked, his tone cold and with hints of annoyance.

She furrowed her brows and arched her lips, having not much to say. He was right, she knew about his life, but the time they had spent together was too short to know him _really_.

"This is called looove," Shachi said humorously, trying to loosen the tension from him.

"This is called stupid," he said. " _You_ are stupid."

"Now you're getting mean, Law," Penguin commented. "She's not stupid, she's frustrated."

"I'm not mean, I'm just saying what's on," he claimed. "Instead of watching how it goes first, you sit here with a whiny expression and plan too far ahead with a sacrifice not equal to what you know so far."

"But she _had_ to consider how far she's ready to go before she continues," Penguin said. "You don't know how hard it is to let go when you're already too deep in."

He quirked the side of his upper lip. "If she's not prepared to get hurt, she shouldn't consider anything. It's stupid."

"But if you like someone, you just consider acting stupid!" he began to snarl.

Law gritted his teeth. That was the first time, his companion snarled so seriously at him. He leaned his head against his fist as his arm spread on the back of the booth, muttering, "fine, whatever, do as you please."

"Geez Law, I want to see how _you_ act when you meet someone you like," Penguin said. "Why do you care anyway?"

"Oi Pen," Shachi made a cut to cool him.

"I didn't say I _care_ , I just told her my opinion and you freaked out."

"Don't come with your rational talk when-"

"Hey, enough now, guys," Judy said.

"Geez, why do _you_ care so much?" Law grumbled again.

"Because I'm her friend and you did wrong," Penguin answered. "I respect you and I totally stand behind you, but sometimes you just need to be told that not everything you think's right."

"It's about _opinion,_ there's no right or wrong."

"But ya stated it as a fact, your tone just d-"

"Pen, cool down," Shachi commented again.

Quinn straightened back and sighed. "It's okay, as he'd said, there's no right or wrong. You both are right." All eyes glanced back at the girl, who carried a tired face. "I should figure out early enough what I want, but I should stop breaking my mind so hard about it. Yop, I've got enough time at home."

Letting the moment seep, Penguin started feeling bad about his behavior. "Sorry, I didn't wanna rampage..."

She smiled. "I found it sweet that you called me your friend."

He rubbed his neck again until his attention wandered over to Law in guilt. "Uhm Cap, sorry... I didn't mean to snarl on you."

The doctor didn't say much and twitched a brow over his lazy eyes. "Whatever."

Suddenly, a loud bell noised through the bar and the customers stopped their interactions and moved their heads to the directions as someone yelled, "today's the day we finally get rid of the stuff in this box here! Half a year and no one's missing these, sooo."

"Oah, auction!" Quinn said in excitement and jumped up with her bag. "I wanna see what they're gonna sell!" She left the table quickly to get to the other part of the bar where interested parties and bystanders gathered.

"I go with you!" Shachi said.

"Ah, me not. Don't wanna stand and walk too much," Penguin said, holding the side of his ribs with his free hand to remind the problem. Shachi and Judy moved out of the booth, leaving him and Law alone together. Of course, Penguin knew that the doctor would be not interested in the auction enough to move his ass around the corner, but he hadn't thought about it as he decided to stay at the table, bearing some discomfort within his friend's company. Snarling at Law felt totally out of place, he felt so disrespectful towards him after that man had actually saved his life. "Uhm Law..." Penguin approached his attention quietly. "I'm sorry again for arguing with you before."

"What are you saying?" he asked, sounding as if he gave a damn about his apology. But this was just his usual way to talk. "You can apologize for getting loud, but not for voicing your thoughts."

"But uhm," said he unsure about his words.

"Who am I to complain about your right to talk? I may disagree with you, in fact, give a shit about your opinion; didn't mean though, you can't speak it out."

Smiling slowly again, Penguin nodded. "You're right. You know, I just felt bad because you've saved me."

"Two totally different things."

"Giving a shit's mean though," he joked then and laughed a little. "But we know ya."

Right, they knew him... They would be fine if he's honest and 'mean' (that's not how he'd called it). _She_ would be fine.

...

"Ten!" Quinn shouted.

"Twelve!" someone else increased.

"15!" she offered then.

A guy in his late 20's looked at the determined girl, eyeing her up and down until he offered, "20!"

Getting slowly into the price range she planned not to spend, she tightened her fists and hesitated to raise her bid. As no other involved, she heard them counting up for the final, making her nervous until she shouted, "23!"

"30!" The same guy outbid her again and Quinn's expression changed to helpless shock. He glanced at her and at the item in turn and she pulled a grumpy face, accepting already her unspoken defeat in displeasure.

"Going once!"

30 was way too much.

"Going twice!"

But she wanted it...

"Going thrice!"

But you couldn't have anything you wanted.

"Sold! One retro Polaroid instant camera and a film to the young man on the left!"

...

"Quinn," Judy said at the somewhat weary girl next to her, who hung with the side of her head over the table.

"Ouh man, I always wanted a Polaroid..." she said. "This guy had done that on purpose..."

"Why should he purposely outbid you for any reason else than wanting the item?" Judy asked with a raised brow, thinking that she was exaggerating again.

She slimmed her view, staring crucially into space. "Maybe he enjoys destroying other people's dream."

"That's because he, of course, knew to own this Polaroid camera was your 'dream'."

"It's not improbable with her," Law added flatly. "Her facial expressions tell a lot."

Shachi snickered amused and gave a try in comforting her with some joke, "maybe he was from the future and his mission was to travel back in time and outbid you in order to prevent an apocalypse."

She pouted, still with her unsatisfied and skeptical face. "Maybe."

"Hm... or maybe he's the chosen one and needed that item to save the world," Penguin told, equally enjoyed.

"Maybe."

Judy sighed and sank her face into her palm, staring down at the blonde head and rather tired of her behavior. She played along though. "Or maybe it's gonna be a present for someone, whose dream's really owning one."

"Maybe."

Law's stoic voice spoke then, "or maybe he just wants that camera more, thus was willing to pay more."

Quinn's head jerked up and she stared at the guy while her expression hadn't changed. "THAT'S... what I also believe," she stated like it needed much to come up with that explanation.

The round's attention drew to a guy who appeared out of nothing in front of their booth. It was the very same guy who had gotten the camera from the auction, holding the item sightable to their faces.

"Sorry, I saw you wanted that camera so badly," said he as he focused Quinn, who looked up at the guy with a blank clueless face.

Finding it awkward that he walked to their table, she reacted correspondingly. "Yeah...?"

"Well uhm, I actually didn't intend to buy it for so much, and well, how should I explain," he began to tell, appearing a little amorphous in his way to talk and handle things. His eyes were for most on the floor or the item he was holding. "If you still want it, I can, well, make an offer."

Discreet in his appearance, Law still managed to eye the guy sharply and saw nothing good coming from that weird male. He wasn't the only one though, as his two companions were doing the same. They were all males, they knew what those intended, and it looked like it was definitely going to be a strange way to pick up a girl.

"This is suspicious," Quinn said, her eyes slimming again. "What have you done with it?"

"Ah, actually nothing, I just want to-" He stopped and pointed into the round ."Ah, first, are those all your friends?"

Still with skeptical brows, she answered, "yyyy... No?"

Not prepared for that answer, he smiled awkwardly while his eyes graced her companies briefly. "Uh, okay?"

"Just kidding. Yes, they are."

"Uhm, oh, friends? Regular friends?"

Quinn gritted her teeth a bit and a subtle insincere smile of discomfort washed over her. "Yesss."

"Uh well, okay," the guy replied and put one hand into his jeans-pocket, being something between shy and obtrusive. He eyed the camera and spoke with an unsure smile, "wanna go out with me and I give you the item?"

Quinn's jaw dropped slowly as she was left uncomfortable with the situation, having no words to answer. "Uhh..."

He looked back at her. "Yeah, I saw you and you look very stunning, and I thought I shouldn't miss that."

She furrowed her brows with a little smile of compassion and weirdness. "Uhm, thank you... but I think you can keep the camera..."

His eyes grew confidently bigger by her response. "I know-I know, this is a weird way to hit on a girl, but you know, many couples got together by the weirdest stories."

"I-I have a boyfriend," she claimed quickly as defense. "Sorry."

"A boyfriend? Oh, okay, that was a hit or miss then," he said, laughing lightly to it.

Quinn looked at him with a pinched smile. "Sorry..."

He tried to overshadow the awkward situation with a laugh, fidgeting with the camera on both hands now. "Well, how stupid, now I've bought that camera for nothing."

"You can still resell it," Shachi noted, unimpressed.

"Yeah, maybe you try hitting on another girl," his mate added in the same slight derogative tone.

The guy rubbed his head with a timid laugh. "Okay, this is awkward..."

 _You don't say_ , the whole group thought.

Shamelessly, he looked back at the blonde and give it another try. "How about, I give you this for 20 and a kiss?"

Appalled about his offer, Penguin snapped, "hey, didn't you hear, she has a boyfriend!"

"Okay, uhm, what about a kiss on the cheek and 25?"

They looked at him with a what-the-hell attitude, considering just to ignore the dude. Law gave him another thoughtful stare from the side, trying to figure out what his agenda was. He wasn't too pushy or impolite, rather nervous and a little pitiful. "I guess this guy's in a bet," said he then and their confused looks changed soon to surprise.

Throwing all questioning gazes at him, the guy confessed, "I bet my homies I'm gonna land on a pretty girl like that; they are watching me from across the room."

While their minds stayed sober, Quinn called immediately out in joy, "oh! This sounds fun!" His reason made the whole thing less creepy and she turned her face to Judy, grinning at her.

"What?" Judy asked critically.

She smiled at her with tight lips, her sassy eyes telling the brunette exactly what she was requesting her to do.

"Don't give me that look," she said with a tiny hint of annoyance.

She grinned and her eyes pointed briefly over to Law, remarking what she had done for her. "You owe me that." As Judy rolled her eyes, Quinn understood it right away as a defeat from her side and moved her attention back to the guy with the camera. "Make it 20 and a kiss on the cheek from my friend!"

His eyes checked out the brunette swiftly, also satisfied with that option. "25 and a cheek kiss."

"22 and a cheek kiss."

"22 and two."

"20 and two."

"Okay, 20 and two, deal," he agreed and they shook hands. He put the camera down and leaned a little forward to Judy, smiling shyly as she wrapped her hands around his jaw and placed one kiss on each side of his cheek. Shachi and Penguin watched it with envy pink cheeks and the urged to punched that guy away.

As he backed again, Quinn handed him the bill. "There you go, 20!"

He thanked and put the money away, leaving the group quietly.

"From a date, down to two kisses. You girls know, you've fleeced him," Penguin said.

"That's for hitting shamelessly on an allegedly taken girl," Judy stated nonchalantly.

Shachi looked at her, convinced about his own words, "she's dating Sabo, she practically does have a boyfriend."

"Dating does not necessarily imply that," Law responded. She even had said it herself.

Not even paying him proper attention, Penguin teased, "oh Law, no one listens to your view of relationships and dating."

"Observation and logical conclusion," the redhead recited humorously, also like his opinion was ranked zero.

"Geez, you guys," he sighed, not adding much to it.

Not caring about their little conversation at all, Quinn sparkled by the surveying of her new purchase. "I have a retro, polaroid, camera!" She lifted it excited with the included film inside. "Oh my god, this is so cool! I always wanted one, I'm gonna shoot maaany pictures and collect them all, woah, the film's inside, right? How do you use that? I wanna test this out! I hope the film's not expired. Those small squared frames are so cute!" Right after she had paused, she immediately continued with the announcement, "oh oh! I wanna take a picture!" in excitement and jumped up, getting over to the table next to them and asked an elderly couple. "Excuse me, do you mind taking a picture of us?"

They turned around and agreed easily on it, taking the Polaroid camera. Quinn rushed back into the booth, leaning close onto Judy. "You have to budge up closer together people!"

Shachi and Penguin did as she said, smiling widely into the camera. Being in position, they noticed that Law was still on the side and hadn't moved a bit but watched the scenario silently.

"Oi Cap, c'mon," Shachi said and the bunch glared at him in anticipation.

"Just take the picture," he replied disinterested, made Shachi wrapping his arm around his neck to pull him closer to them. "Urgh, let go of me!"

"Don't be so uptight," Penguin said while Law tried to pull away.

Ignoring the hassle, Quinn hugged onto Judy. "Say cheese!"

The flash lighted their faces for a second and Quinn moved to the person who took the picture, thanked them and took the camera and Polaroid. Back to the group, they stared curiously on the black surface of the flat square, Law distanced himself annoyed to his previous spot.

"Ah, I think I haven't looked into the camera," Shachi said and sighed.

As the picture slowly appeared clearly, their faces brightened in amusement by looking at it. Penguin and Quinn faced the lens how it was supposed to be while Judy's eyes were closed, Shachi and Law discussing with each other.

"Ah, my eyes," Judy complained. "This is only because of the flash, it always happens with me!"

"You look good though, my nose's awful in that angle," the redhead said, eyeing it skeptically.

Penguin leaned comfortably back. "Well, I'm satisfied."

"Yeah, because you look good on the pic!" Shachi sneered.

"Hey, it's not my fault you're not photogenic."

Quinn reached out for her bag and pulled out a black marker, writing on the white frame '2nd May'. "This is our first picture together. An unfunny clown, a slut - no offense, a ginger, a penguin and a Grinch, hehe!"

"Can we all have a moment and acknowledge that I'm not that much of a ginger. It's more a brownish dark red, not that bright orange."

"Red's red," said Penguin and the two started a pointless argue of insults again, involving Judy by asking for her support.

Law sat across from the blonde quietly, watching how she surveyed the Polaroid picture happily. The first picture together, huh? So there was going to be more? And just like her, he questioned how this developed into where they were now. Sharing a table together in the bar, sharing friendly moments with her.

"You wanna see, Doc?" she suddenly said, looking at him and getting him out of his loss. "You haven't taken a look on it yet."

Remaining quiet, he reached out for the picture and took a look on the shot. No matter when it had happened and how; it was definitely refreshing to his normal, dull life and pulled a small smile on his lips.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Phew, finally an update. This chapter went into a totally different direction than I had planned after my little writer's block. I even have started Chapter 31 before and first thought about skipping this one xD_

 _Thanks for your lovely reviews :)! I eager to give you more Quinn/Law moments (psst, the next chapter will give you some hehe), I'm glad you enjoy their interactions etc~_

 _Btw. can someone tell me why chapter 15 (Two moods) constantly gets so many views? It's just strange and I don't get it LOL_

 _ **rikichancute** \- Aww, thank you! I'm very happy to hear that q.q! I have much free time until summer, that's why I'm updating so fast XD (except for this one). But these days I'm quite busy with other stuff, so I can't promise regular updates in near future ;(_

 _ **Mei** \- Welcome back, I hope it was nothing too serious and you're well now :) I always think, if nothing between the protagonists changed and they act almost the same towards each other as they were best friends or something alike, I don't mind the cut. But yeah, in contrast I find it interesting seeing two totally different personalities growing together._


	31. Macabre date

_**A/N:** For everyone who doesn't know, Chapter 30 had been updated a few days ago, but due to some problems, it didn't show up in the feed nor was anyone alert. So don't skip it haha :D_

* * *

 **31\. Macabre date**

It was a dull day as Quinn had left the house and rode the cab all the way down to the church. The sky lost its saturation as the sun was behind clouds, leaving the town in a gray light. If they were unlucky, it would rain today. But Harry Dillan had loved rain. He had loved the sounds it made when he was inside, enjoying a warm cup while his eyes glanced out of the window that got hit by dozens of raindrops. And he had loved being outside under the rainy ceiling and enjoying how the loud collisions of those drops muffled the other sounds of the environment. He had thought it was funny to drag a wet umbrella into the classroom; or to joke about the weather, wishing rain every time. So if it would rain, it certainly was some kind of prank from his side, right?

The cab stopped in front of the church and Quinn got out after she had paid the driver. A cold wind came from the side and she shielded her face with her hand, moving towards the entrance of the big building while the thin black coat was flapping to the breeze. All around her were unfamiliar faces, drowned in grief and sorrow as they gathered at the building as well. Entered, the young woman looked for anyone she knew, her eyes scanning through the dark dressed accumulation.

Quinn didn't want to interrupt as she spotted Dr. Dillan in a conversation, thus stood still on the spot, glancing to her and her interlocutor. She inhaled quietly and returned to eyeing her surroundings, her eyes passing the heap of black umbrellas on the floor along a wall; the many strangers; the very few children; until they fell to the coffin on the other side of the room. Her expression lowered. If she had known, she would have paid him a visit in the hospital.

As Dr. Dillan was finally alone, Quinn moved over to the woman, who was silently lost in thoughts.

"Dr. Dillan," the teacher said and stopped in front of her.

Lifting her chin, she looked at the blonde. A small smile attempted her lips as she spoke with rather quiet voice, "it's nice to see you, Dear."

Quinn didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around her and hugged her tightly. "My deep condolence..." As she backed off, she returned the smile discreetly. "He was a great man." Dr. Dillan only nodded back, sobbing a little. "Where's Jimmy?" asked Quinn then as she couldn't spot her son by her side.

"Outside, around the corner," she answered with a frustrated smile. "He's not doing well."

It didn't take the young teacher a second thought to go looking for her student. She was certain that his mother already had talked with him about death but experienced the grieving procedure from few others of her students with the same fate, she could imagine how he looked and felt at that moment, thus also thought about giving a try in comforting him.

Outside, she headed around the building and found the boy on a bench that faced the wall to the street. Slowly, she moved up to him until he looked at her. "Can I?" asked she and pointed to the spot to his side. The boy nodded and she took place. "Have you taken an umbrella with you?" With his gaze dropped to the ground, he nodded again silently. Quinn looked up to the sky and remembered the forecast about the possible bad weather. "I'm stupid, I didn't."

"But you're an adult, you can't be that stupid..." said the boy.

Quinn smiled with big eyes. "Well, according to your dad, kid's are the smarter ones."

Doubtful, he was glaring at her. "You mean, when we kids become adults, we can do better?"

She tried not to laugh about the question, which she found quite cute. "You learn from our mistakes, so not unlikely."

"Was my dad's death also a mistake?" said he then, not joining her good mood. "Why are their other people with the same illness, doctors can heal?"

"It's..." Pausing, she tried to figure a non-affiliated answer, because she didn't want to be responsible for the child's belief since his parents seemed split in their worldview. So, why was that? Why was it sometimes so unfair? "Some things are just natural," said she. "Imagine, we humans invent things that fight against our nature. When his life span ended, it wasn't stolen but actually a procedure he awaited, because he knew, some things need to keep moving."

"Is he then at a better place?"

She smiled warmhearted. "I don't know if it's better, but I'm sure it's not bad."

Not satisfied though, the boy pouted and stared to ground in huff. "But he's my dad, why's he leaving me and mum here so easily?"

"You know, Jimmy..." Comforting a child without lying was hard to task, but she could relate to that. "My mother died because of health problems too, and I had the same questions as you. Why did she leave me? Why couldn't the doctor help her? Where's she now? But, some things can't be answered, no one can, and I doubt anyone can do in the future."

"This is so stupid..." he replied, kicking the grass.

Quinn's eyes followed his aggressive foot, switching her mood to melancholy as she tried to find a solution. Also she had been that aggressive back then, she hadn't accepted people's comfort talk of heaven and hell, she had hated it when no one seemed to understand her. "I see it more as..." She had sought for something impartial and had come up with her own comfort. "An egg surprise I'm allowed to open one day."

He looked at her with furrowed brows, his voice unsure. "This sounds like a big toy's awaiting us..."

A light laugh left her mouth. "Could be, you never know. All in all, we all were kids once, and as a kid, there's nothing better than a cool toy, right?"

Jimmy slowly began to smile again. "I like action figures, I want one in human size."

"Don't you think that would be scary?" Quinn asked skeptically.

"Big toys are awesome."

Rolling up her eyes as she thought about it, she nodded. "Well okay, I always wanted a big doll to cuddle. Seems legit."

The boy allowed himself some cheeky answer, "girls are so corny."

She laughed about that unexpected judgmental statement. "Hey young man, don't dare to say that in front of your mother!"

Challenging, he hopped on his feet and told her sassy, "I'm gonna tell her now!"

The boy ran back inside and Quinn sighed, smiling widely for herself as she felt some success in boosting the child's mood somewhat.

"Peanut," she then heard Law behind her, startling her a little.

Soon her smile decreased to smaller as she kept her face ahead, not checking his attendance. "Everywhere I go, you happen to be there too. You don't really wanna assassin me?"

Law put both hands on the backrest of the bench, his arms spread so that he could support himself as he leaned a little forward. "Maybe someday when you trust me completely."

Hearing his voice close above, she looked up and saw him staring down at her. "Then I will never trust you?"

He smirked and Quinn surveyed him as he walked around and took place to her left before her eyes wandered back on his face. "You look great in that suit," she told him in a semi-interested way as if giving each other compliments were nothing special. But it was not just great-looking; suits were magical in one particular way of giving its already handsome wearer, an even stronger look (besides flattering as good as every man). But that guy's ego was big enough, she didn't need to feed it (he would definitely tease her).

Law said laterally to her, one arm leaned over the bench, his ankle over his thigh so that the tip of his shoe pointed into her direction. He smiled at her with his lazy look and made a brief scan of her as well. "You look great too, very ladylike."

She chuckled modestly and stared away. "Well, I wasn't sure if I should wear my blue polka dotted dress to keep my kitschy image, but thanks."

"I thought about wearing a spotted suit with a bright yellow tie," he played along.

Laughing a little, she looked back at him, her body now tilted to him as well. "Why are you here? Since when did you know Mr. Dillan?"

"Since two weeks?" he said.

"Were you in charge for him?"

"No, they refused."

"I would refuse too," she joked. "Too embarrassing."

Law snickered lightly. "I told you I would try differently if I wanna see you naked."

Her brows lifted with a sassy glare to the side. "I dunno if it's a turn on for you, blood and innards."

"What if?"

She gritted her teeth and inhaled through the tiny gaps, staring at him crucially. "Well...," said she and exhaled, "then I would run far far away and avoid you as much as possible?"

"Then prepare to run now," he responded with a sly smile.

Quinn only gazed at him soundless as his words proceeded in her head for a few seconds until she gasped out a small laugh. "You're a creep, Doc."

"I carry this title with pride," he claimed with his nonchalance and amusement.

"Dr. Creep?"

"Dr. Creepiest."

She chuckled somewhat again and turned back to the front, opening her bag and took out a boxed juice which straw she pierced in idly before she drank it.

"Boxed juice?" Law said with a brow rose. "There it goes, ladylike."

"I thought about painting the box black before coming here," she deadpanned. "Matching this occasion."

"Can I ask you something?"

Quinn shifted her eyes back to him, staring into his suddenly more serious face. "Yeah?"

"What illness had your mother?"

Quietly, she looked away as his question took her by surprise with a slight upward turn of her lips. "Wow, you heard that?" Her arm settled on the backrest as well and her head nestled in her hand, locking eyes with him again. There was no reason to keep that secret from him. "I dunno, any coronary heart disease, I can't remember."

"Heart disease?" Law repeated surprised, but not certainly positive.

She nodded. "She died when I was six. You wanna hear?"

"Please go ahead."

A sassy smile washed over her face. "So curious." Quinn tucked the strain of her hair behind her ear. "We went to the hospital as she told me she wasn't feeling good, but they couldn't find anything and sent her home with some painkillers." Quinn's eyes wandered over to a child with her mother in her hand, who were standing meters away so that she only sighted them blurred. "On our way home, she obviously felt bad but told me everything was gonna be fine, that the doctor had prescribed her some medications. I was sure they'd help her and stayed carefree by her side."

A timid smile, almost penalizing herself, formed her mouth. It didn't need much to say that she felt regret to whatever had occurred that day; but she had been a child, she couldn't have done better, no one but her would fault her for anything.

You could not blame a child.

"We were in the underground station and sat next to each other. I talked a lot about all the possible things that surrounded us, even about the trash in the container."

"So, you've always been a waterfall," he remarked teasingly.

She laughed lightly about his commentary and the memory, raising her head slowly from her palm. "Yeah, seems so. But she just sat there and didn't respond, let me talking like an idiot about so many trivial things. I talked, and talked, and talked, and the undergrounds passed one by one. Back then I didn't know which one was ours." Quinn took a deep breath and sighed out, her eyes drifted swiftly to the side. "Well yeah, I became tired from my own mouth and got up, seeing my mother was not awake. I was so annoyed that she had dozed off next to me in public and didn't wake up since I wanted to go home already. Other bystanders came by as they noticed me and tried to wake her up too."

Quinn's lips pressed together to a line with the ghost of a smile. "They tried until they noticed that she wasn't sleeping but dead." Law's brows narrowed a little as Quinn looked back at him with a tensed smile, talking somewhat sarcastically, "funny what? I was chilling next to a dead body and noticed nothing. She was only 26, not much older than me now..."

As much as she was displaying laughter, her true emotions couldn't be hidden and she even felt guilty for that, trying to overshadow it with a fake laugh. "I'm sorry, I don't wanna appear whiny or so. I mean, it happens; people live and die."

"You have all rights to," he stated calmly, not losing his focus from her eyes, even when they avoided his.

She shook her head and tried to maintain a carefree and humorous tone. "No, you don't either, so why should I."

His brow rose. "Why should _I_?"

Quinn felt sightably uncomfortable, notable through the way how her finger moved as they were scratching the surface they lay on while her feet got a little antsy. "Because... well... you lost both parents."

Surprised that she knew about it, he asked her dryly, "who told you?"

Noticing his displeased face, her eyes darted down to her lap as she nervously explained, "D-Dr. Dillan did, but she hadn't told me anything else...! That was last month at the Easter event, she just did to defend you as I was complaining about you! So n-nothing more or to be mad at...! I know nothing! And I-I won't ask...! Not that I wouldn't care, but you know, modesty and stuff; sooo I, uhm, heard nothing! I'll-"

Gasping shortly as Law trailed her cheek with his hand, her confused eyes glared into his calm face by his sudden intimate touch.

"You're talking too much, Miss Heady."

She looked embarrassed away and stammered, "I-I'm sorry! I just, uhm, I didn't want you to think wrong of Dr. Dillan, s-so I thought about explaining it...! I-I-I...!"

"Do you want to know what happened to my parents?" he asked and her eyes moved back to him, muddled about his unexpected question. As she only gave him a silent look, awaiting his story, he moved his face closer to her, confusing her even more. It was not the first time he allowed himself so close, but she felt confined this time as his hand didn't let go of her cheek. His aftershave was modestly applied; his face way calmer instead of the mocking smile he always put on when he leaned to her. Barely returning a glance, Quinn wanted to respond and her lips flickered, paused by every twitch as she attempted to voice her confusion, leaving her blushing. Almost forehead touching then, he told her quietly, "ask me again in half a year."

She sucked her lower lip, pressed to a straight line, her cheeks heating in embarrassment. "You're so stupid, Trafalgar..." said she.

He smirked and backed off, letting go of her. "Why? Did I make you nervous?"

Quinn half-lidded her eyes as she replied, "yes, you did. This was a dangerous distance."

"Dangerous in what sense?"

Knowing exactly what he thought as his mockery didn't leave his face, she looked at him madly with her reddened cheeks. "You could've used that moment to stab me as I was distracted..."

"Stabbing you?" he queried surprised with an amused smile.

"Y-yeah..." she confirmed insecurely.

"You're right, not improbable."

Listening to his joking, she sighed out loud, sagging her head on both of her hands on the backrest. "God, you creeeep, stop these jokes."

Law pulled nonchalant a pocket knife, flipping it open and glared relaxed at it. "Who said that was a joke?"

In shock Quinn jerked back, staring at the random item in his hand, which possession he treated casually. "What the hell?!" Her eyes drew back to his face critically, but lazy looking. "Why am I still hanging out with you?"

He glanced at her with a small smirk. "You tell me."

Calming down from her little shock, her dubious eyes scanned the knife from a distance. "Why are you running around with that?"

Law turned the polished silver blade a little, eyeing the reflected light himself. "You never know when it comes handy."

She raised a brow. "So you always carry it with you?"

"Not always."

"Ehh, and what if you don't have it in a moment you need it?"

"Then bad luck."

"Wow, just wow, Trafalgar," said she and shook her head calmly to his answer. Relaxed in his posture, legs crossed as usual while his arms leaned on the back of the bench, he span the knife casually in his hand, panicking Quinn, "Oh my god, stop that!"

Again, her reaction amused him utterly and he couldn't hold a small giggle through his sealed smirk.

"Why are you laughing? This is not funny!" Quinn said with narrowed brows and arched lips. "What if someone attacks you and uses that knife against you?"

"I appreciate it that you still care about my well-being."

"Of course I do!" she claimed, her statement spoken in a matter of course surprised him. "God, you're such a weirdo."

"Aren't we all a little?" said he and looked up to the sky, gray clouds gathering above the scenery. Putting the knife back in his pocket as he stood up, he walked slowly off from the spot. "Let's get back inside, I think it's gonna rain any moment."

Already off his way inside the church, Quinn remained a moment on the bench and stared at his backside quietly. She pouted a little as she felt unsure towards him and his odder becoming trades. Law was... still something else. Not certainly negative, no, in fact, she somehow liked talking to him, even though she felt like she had to justify herself in front of him every single time.

* * *

"Oh, Trafalgar, Quinn," Dr. Dillan said in surprise as she spotted the two together in the heap of family, relatives, friends, colleagues, and students. They were standing side by side while their eyes seemed to analyze the situation and their environment, watching how everyone took place one after another; talking to each other, looking so complaintless. "I never thought to see you'd get along."

Quinn smiled wryly, poking her own cheek in awkwardness. "Uhh, yeah... happens somehow."

"That's nice to see," the woman said with a tender smile. "You two better get a seat, the eulogy starts in a few minutes."

As she walked away from them with her son in her hand, Quinn looked after her with saddened brows. The widow woman reflected a stage of depression and deep sorrow while she was trying to maintain a smile to ease the low mood so that it was heart wrecking to watch, the once only in geniality encounterable woman. "I hate seeing Dr. Dillan like that..."

"Let's go." Law left her side and moved to one of the benches in the back that was filled with some of the dead's students and colleagues. Also Quinn didn't root on the spot and followed him right after.

Sitting in the last row, both listened to the speech of the pastor, who put his words into religious content as expected in the walls of the divine. Quinn tilted her head closer to Law while her gaze stayed to the front, whispering, "this is pretty ironic. Mr. Dillan was a believer, but Dr. Dillan isn't."

Keeping his eyes also ahead, he replied in a bored tone, "well, it's all about the dead."

She then looked at him. "Are you religious?"

"I'm from a family of scientists," he said.

"Means nothing."

Law looked at her as well, staring into her questioning face and a subtle sigh left him. "I believe in miracles."

Silence.

They didn't break their eye contact.

No blink.

"Cute."

"Can you stop considering everything as cute?" Law said slightly annoyed.

"Sweet."

"Peanut..." he added somewhat exasperated.

"Diabetes," then caused him to look at her as if she had said something incomprehensible. "What? This is the ultimate form."

"Excuse me, can you please?" a person next to the girl hushed the two about their chitchat.

Quinn covered her mouth immediately. "Sorry."

Quietly, she shifted her torso back to the front, giving the pastor her attention. Law glanced swiftly down to her with a little smirk before he also paid the speech his. Though it was for both not what they expected from afterlife - if they did expect anything; and even they considered it both as a flat, almost impersonal speech - except for the part that _had_ personal references; it was all due to the respect of the dead and grieving ones.

The longer Quinn sat within the sorrowful folk, the more painful this event became, and the more heartbreaking her memories to her first funeral. It hadn't been that big, no one came but her and her father.

And with every minute she was sitting, she wondered more and more what Law thought about death (all in all he had it tattooed on his fingers). His soul was warm enough to be bothered by her not-attendance at the hospital regarding her health (whereby she wasn't sure if he hadn't had any other agenda), but else he seemed so disinterested. It kind of felt like something - maybe the loss of his parents - had made him emotionally dead. When had they died? How had they died? Had he been a different person back then? Or had he been always that stoic? Was it traumatic? Or was is it normal?

With furrowed brows, Quinn carefully looked at him again while he was still facing the front calmly, looking relaxed as ever. No, someone as insensitive and dry as him couldn't have lived just 'normal'. "Tr-"

Inbetween the silence and of the listeners, an annoying alarm siren sounded out of nowhere. All heads turned around to Quinn; Dr. Dillan furrowed her brows in confusion about the sudden disturbance that echoed awfully in the room. Quinn's cheeks turned red and she grabbed her bag, searching panicky for her cellphone. "Oh crap, I-" She heard murmurs from all corners that heated her head in huge shame and embarrassment. _D_ _amn it, damn it, damn it, damn it!_ she thought frustrated and turned off the alarm as fast as her insecure hands allowed. "I-I'm sorry!" said she out loud and jumped up with a deep bow. "Please continue."

...

After the eulogy, the mass stood up and prepared to head outside to the graveyard. The sky was cloudy and dropped heavy rain down, causing a stream of black umbrellas.

"Was that a bomb alarm?" asked Law with a mocking smile, still in the church with Quinn.

Still blushing in shame, her eyes drew to ground and she stated uncomfortably, "otherwise I wouldn't be able to wake up, m-my sleep's really tight, and I dunno, this is the only terrible sound that gets me awake, I just forg-"

"Flaw number two, inadvertence."

She stopped and looked back up at him with half-opened eyes. "...Seriously? Your fl- shut your stupid smirk!" Quinn hid her face in her palms, shaking her head. "God, this was so embarrassing, how should I live any further?"

"Pretty macabre of you to ask that at a funeral," said Law in his vivid nonchalance.

Her face darted back to him in despair. "What? No...! I didn't mean so, it's-"

"It's okay," someone behind her said and she turned around to face Dr. Dillan, who smiled small but heartily at her. "Harry would be happy to hear some macabre humor and your jokes."

"Ahh, Dr. Dillan, that from before, I'm so sorry! That was my alarm and I thought I had turned it off last night, I got three you know? And that was, uhm..., I'm not sure anymore for what it was, but, ahh, I mean, I'm so super sorry...! I didn't mean to disturb the speech, I-I even turned my phone off right away, and-and it's still off! So, I guarantee, it won't happen a second time! If yes, y-you ca-"

"Dear, it's okay," she said with a hand laid on the girl's shoulder, rubbing her upper arm gently then. "Let's get to the churchyard."

As she went away, Quinn grabbed her head in frustration. "Oaaah, Trafalgaaar, I feel so stupid."

"Maybe because you are," he replied

"Thanks..."

"Let's go." He prepared to leave the spot as well, but as he noticed that she wasn't following, he tilted back to her. "Oi, Peanut."

She sat on the floor with her head leaned against the bench, a depressive aura hovering around her. "You can go without me, I'm here and melting to a brew of disgrace."

"Alright, see you," said he simple and continued to move to the exit.

"See you."

Law grabbed the black item he also had left in a corner of the church and went outside, protecting himself from the rain. Being outside, Law soaked the silent and dull atmosphere of the human hurt soul, staring upon the sky. It was obvious that the sun was hiding behind the blanket of clouds as it shone now and then at their brims, yet it felt like it had a hard time coming out any time soon. Like it was covering itself on purpose, avoid lightening life.

The coffin bearer went ahead while the mourners followed their steps, Law within. Their destination was not far from the church and he gave his back a quick look, still not seeing his company behind. Apparently, she was still in the process of accepting her little clumsiness.

The coffin was released to the wet ground while all surrounded the open grave. Everything that happened today was like a storybook funeral; the participants; the weather; the atmosphere; the speech; something Law was spared from experiencing, against or on his will. It was supposed to be a tribute in its dark beauty, yet it made him feel uncertain about its implementation. Was it because he hadn't been close enough to the dead and couldn't feel the level of gratitude for the feast, the condolement, and way to cope with pain, that others had? Or was it because he saw no depth in this display of honor in general? The chance to show respect was given, and though he felt it was so empty.

Standing in the last row of the grieving lot, Law noted Quinn's presence right next to him very quickly, just as she arrived. "Welcome back."

"Hello," she replied flatly.

His eyes drifted over to her and he eyed her wet look, how her hair was rinsed down to her skin, the rain dripping from the tips. "You look awful."

Her gaze moved up to him and she grinned wryly. "I had no umbrella hehe..."

Law looked to the dark surface of his'. "And now you allow yourself getting under mine."

Hearing him stating it as an unpleased fact instead of a question, she said, "I-I'm sorry, I can, uh, get, yeah, elsewhere..." and made one step to the side, moving out from the rain shield in his hand.

He glanced at her with lazy eyes, mumbling, "geez, weirdo..." Stepping next to the blonde casually, his umbrella protected both of them from the shower again.

"Oh, ready to share your free space?" Quinn said, tilting her face to him. "Thank you."

He stood quite nonchalant with one hand in his pocket, staring stoically ahead as he responded, "yeah. I know you'd be too lazy to get to a doctor."

"I'm not too lazy!" Quinn claimed with a little grumpy face. As he remained silent to her statement, she puffed her cheeks and made another step away from the umbrella.

Unimpressed, he looked at her from the side. "What's that supposed to be?"

She folded her arms with an equal stoic face. "I get myself sick and show up at a doctor."

Trying to act disinterested, Law moved his face back to the front to pay the funeral his attention. "Do as you please then."

The two remained like that and Dr. Dillan's attention moved over to them as she stood at the back of the crowd after she had thrown a rose into the grave. She watched how they stayed next to each other, not moving a bit, the stubbornness sensed by her easily. Eyeing the two for about a minute, she observed curiously how Law's face turned back to Quinn as she had changed nothing in her attitude.

Law saw how she was now soaked completely from the rain, her mascara smudged under her eyes while the water dripped from the little button tip of her nose. She was obviously freezing, the goosebumps on her neck and her weak tremble indicating, while the cold breeze was making everything worse. He sighed and walked over to her again.

Without looking, she made a step backward, away from him again. "Nope, I don't wanna get under your umbrella anymore."

His body turned a little to her. "Flaw number three, acting childish to prove something stupid."

"Well, then I'm childish," she replied, pouting slightly.

"Stop being defiant," said he and changed the grip to the other hand.

"I-" Quinn paused as Law suddenly lay his hand on her arm and pulled her to him with her face over his shoulder. He was holding her tightly to himself, his arm protectively wrapped around her, both now under the umbrella while her eyes had widened to speechlessness. She didn't know how to react and stood awkwardly close to him. "Doctor, this is weird..."

"You force me to do," he responded as if it was nothing.

With red cheeks and narrowed brows, she looked up at him. "I force you to nothing!" As Law's face moved slightly down to her, she froze by his steel gray eyes before her head darted back down, let her remaining perplexed. It felt wrong what he was doing and pretty different to the hug _she_ gave him, made her feel uncomfortable with it for many reasons. Though, she felt like being robbed of her power to say something against it, thus she stayed stiffly in his arm and let the awkward moment happen.

But as his hand tightened around her upper arm a little, Quinn gasped quietly and left her perplexity. "C-can you let go of me, please?"

"Will you walk away again?" he asked calmly.

"No..."

Dr. Dillan watched how they parted again, now standing next to each other quietly with the umbrella back between the two. They were staring straight forward, keeping stoic expressions like nothing had happened. "Harry, you made it rain, right?" the woman mumbled, surprised but calm about her observations.

* * *

"Is this a joke?" Quinn asked.

"No, totally serious," Law deadpanned.

"I know, it's weird, but Harry wished the buffet to look like that," Dr. Dillan explained. "That man had an odd sense of humor..."

Quinn's eyes wandered analytically through food selection, surveying the artistic work of human innards made from all possible ingredients on the table in the middle of the restaurant they held the funeral feast at. There was meat that looked like organs, spareribs in the design of a human rib cage, fruits that look like limbs, just everything you could imagine a human body and its interior was provided with. "Who even made that? It looks freaking real."

"If this looks real for you, you've never seen a person's inner," Law told her from the side.

She lowered her lids and threw him a sarcastic look. "I'm sorry for not being a surgeon."

"I hope you'll like it, eat as much as you can, you two," Dr. Dillan said with a subtle but lovely smile before she decided to head away from them.

"Ah wait, Dr. Dillan!" Quinn stopped her.

The woman turned around, looking into her uncertain face. "Hm?"

Quinn inhaled quietly through her lungs, carrying a straight tight-lipped expression. "Uhm... uh... What do you do with a dead chemist?" she started, earning only awaiting silence. "Barium."

"He would love that joke now," was her only reaction to it, spoken kind as ever. "If you need something, I'm over there." She pointed to the table she would take place with her son and disappeared from the spot.

Law and Quinn stared after her, not getting lost of the sight, while Quinn was questioning with raising regret in her voice, "should I've not told that joke? Oh god, she didn't find it funny, oh no, what have I done?"

"She didn't, but she appreciated it," Law responded. Indeed, no one could expect from the dead's wife to find a joke like that funny, although it was suiting the situation. Talking about jokes in general... "It's been a while that you've told a j-"

"I feel so stupid Trafalgar..." stopped him as he looked at the girl by his side, who pulled down her face with both hands snitly. "I dunnooo what's wrong with me, I never acted so outta place, ouh maaan..."

"You should eat something."

"You're right!" Quinn agreed instantaneously with new motivation. Law watched how she put a little from everything that went along with her diet on her plate, repeating, "food, food, food, food, food, food."

"Very ladylike," he mumbled to her tiny greed.

He, himself, turned to the open buffet with an empty plate as well, considering what he should put on. His sojourn here was unplanned; he wanted to leave right after the funeral, but something made him choosing to stay. Quietly, he moved his eyes back to the blonde that was still mounding her porcelain. Or maybe someone. A funeral and still so cheerful. Glancing back on the table that he walked along, he halted at a big plate as something quite fascinating caught his eyes.

Quinn got back to him as she had made an abnormal quick round around the table, she looked into his stoic face, which was still fixing what was within the selection. "Why are you staring like that?"

"This cake really looks like a brain," said he so that she also took a look at it again.

"Yeah, it definitely doesn't get my appetite..." Quinn stated with a wry smile. It was much bigger than a human brain and still untouched from any of those presences, but it's design was definitely made by someone who knew his field, it was a masterpiece itself. As Quinn saw him making a cut into the imitation of that vital organ, she turned her head with a gross-out expression to him. "Don't tell me, it wakes yours."

"I'm actually not that much of a cake fan, but," Law put a little piece on his plate and side-glanced her with a smirk, licking the cream off that had graced his thumb. "This is sure some accurate work."

For a moment, her eyes widened slightly while her cheeks flushed to minimal. Instantly she tried to catch herself as she noted her sudden shock and undeniable little fraction of attraction to his outer. What was that weird cream licking and genuine smirk of joy anyway? Putting it back in the context, it was pretty psychotic. She shook her head with a somewhat disgusted face. "Oh my gosh, you're such a creep."

"Even the inside's well-made," said he, maybe surprised but extremely disinterest looking.

"Okay, I wanna know the artist who made this. Definitely worth calling for Halloween," Quinn said. "Oh my god, imagine this is a real brain and we know nothing."

Continuing to move along the table, he responded, "don't worry, it's a cake. A real brain feels different."

She followed him. "Oah, I was just kidding. And don't tell me you're a neurosurgeon as well."

"I'm not, but I've worked with brains during my study."

"I bet you're actually an alien, studying the human body and eat them when you're done with your victims."

His brows twitched upward with half-lidded eyes. "Miss Heady, you've got a wanton imagination."

"I knooow, my colleagues sometimes ask me if I do drugs because of that, and once I even said yes just for fun and they all went crazy. You know what, I don't wanna try them, but I wonder how my art will change if I do, like, I heard it should increase the creativity. Many artists use them, also musicians. Hm... that would be interesting, don't you think so? I-"

"Eat," he interrupted her and held a small pike in front of her mouth.

She stared at the pierced food blankly and back at him. "Huh?"

"It's good," said he flatly.

Quinn digested the situation for a short moment before she sent him her idly eyes. "Do you only say that to make me stop talking?"

"Exactly."

Keeping her minimized gaze locked with his, she ate the little fried tofu cube with spices and sauce in a bite, though she knew he hadn't even tried it himself. Suddenly, her eyes started to sparkle. "Ohhh! Try it Doc, it's reaaally good!"

"No thanks," said he and threw the pike away, moving on.

"Nooo, try it! C'mon, it's super delicious, it feels like rainbows exploding in your mouth!" she claimed and took a new tofu pike, eating it as well while she followed him. "Mmmmhm."

"No," Law kept answering dryly.

"Okaaay, it's not _that_ good, it's just average," she confessed and rolled her eyes with a smile. "Coulda worked..."

Watching his ignorance as he kept moving, she pouted her lips and did the same, but rushed ahead. Assuming from her face, Law wondered if she was somehow mad at him because he declined.

Soon she stopped in front of a meat plate, wide-eyed. "Holy, they even serve bear!"

Skeptically, Law raised a brow. "What?" He had expected some oddities besides the unique choice of food design, but that it had to be some bear meat... No way. At least he hoped.

As he slowly walked closer to her, she pointed at the little tag in front of the plate. "Here, it's written there. Exotic bear meat."

'Chicken Fajita slices' read the sign. Leaving it without a comment, he moved on, unamused.

"Joooke!" Quinn followed him with a broad smile. "You didn't really believe it, did you?" Law twitched his upper lip in little annoyance, rather about the tiny coloration he felt over his cheek. Yes, he had believed it and was shocked. "Naaw, you're so cute in naive."

"Be quiet," the guy muttered.

"Say, are bears your favorite animals? I mean, you got that bobblehead doll in your car, I was just wondering. I like bears too! I like teddy bears! Oh oh! Do you know what my favorite dogs are?"

He continued to fill his plate while the conversation kept going. "Mini poodles that look like teddy bears."

"Bingo! Smart boy, how do you know hehe!"

"Because you've told me."

Her excitement vanished in a switch. "Oh. Okay. How disappointing. I thought you were some Sherlock."

Law turned around to the girl who was not even really looking at him as she started to babble her line of thoughts aloud. "Peanut."

"Okay well, it's actually not that hard to guess right, I mean,"

"Peanut."

"How many dogs exist that look like teddy bears?"

"Peanut."

"And I've just talked about teddy bears, so the transition to it is pretty easy,"

"Peanut."

"You need no Sherlock for it."

"Peanut."

Finally, her eyes returned to him. "Yeah?"

Law pointed down to her full plate, which she had filled randomly during her talk. "You'll never eat that all up."

She stared at him blankly again, not understanding. "Why not?"

"Why not?" Law repeated with a brow rose in wonder.

"I can eat a lot, don't underestimate me."

"And you're sure you wanna eat that all _now_?" he said, his eyes glancing swiftly down to the big overfilled plate.

Quinn stared at it herself critically. "Hm... maaaaybeee." She then looked back at him with a joyful smile. "I dare you to eat as much as I do."

"I'm not stupid to affect my body negatively due to your silly game," he responded, leaving her of course with the impression of him being a spoilsport. As if he would ever be ready for a little- "Dare me to do something else."

Her eyes grew out of surprise and her lips curled back up. "I dare you to... walk to random people and tell them a dark joke."

"You really want me to tell a _dark_ joke during a funeral feast?" he searched for a confirmation, stopping his way with her at a bar table where they put their plates down.

"I _dare_ you."

"I know no jokes."

"You've gotta smart brain, I bet you remember at least another one," Quinn said. "But please don't make it so awful like the last one..."

Quietly, he stared at her and thought about just coming up with one. Not struggling much with his decision as he got one, his legs were off to carry him away from her.

He was totally serious, his face didn't twitch a muscle in any shame, discomfort or fear. No, what had she done? Panicky she called him back, "ahh, noo, wait...! Trafalgar!" Law wasn't listening and was ready to do as she had dared. "Doctor...! Stoooop!" As she saw him not turning, perhaps carrying an entertained smirk on his lips, she ran over to him and grabbed his wrist, trying to halt him. And yes, he kept moving with his shameless smirk, his face straight to a table of a couple people that he was aiming. Seeing that she was not strong enough to pause his legs with her grasp, she hugged his arm tightly, made him finally feeling her pull against his destination. "Don't, don't, don't, don't, don't...!" she kept repeating, but he cared less and felt even more challenged by it, increasing his amusement (and it was certainly not because his arm was pressed against her soft chest).

Stopping in front of the table, Quinn froze right away as she faced the group of elderly people and younglings, perhaps colleagues and students. She hugged Law's arm tightly, burying her fingers into him unsightably, to dare him not to do.

He didn't even smirk as he asked, "what would've been a pretty ironic place for Mr. Dillan to die?" Quinn pulled his arm discreetly to warn him not to continue.

But well.

"The living room."

No.

No.

No.

Quinn thought this was going to be the moment the ground under their feet would fall apart, sending them straight to hell. What had she expected from that guy? That he would back off because he was not cool with jokes? Challenging him was a baaad ide-

Her eyes shot open, her face figuratively jaw-slacked.

That folk was giggling, and those giggles turned soon to small laughter.

Saying no further word, Law began to move back to their bar table, Quinn's arms letting go of him as she was lost for a moment. What, the, actual, hell? But her mind realized his walk soon so that she rushed after him. "They actually _laughed_?"

"Looks like."

"The world's so evil," she mumbled but swirled back to a stream of her mind. "Whereby... it's actually good... you made them laugh on a day they are sad, so- holy! I just realized, you made people laugh! Can we have a moment for applause? Unless they rather laughed about your weird performance, walking up to them and being a weirdo, you know? You're quite good at that."

Ignoring her words that shot out like bullets of a machine gun, he said, "I dare you to do the same."

She paused with slight irritation. "What? No!"

He smirked one more. "You're scared?"

Her brows furrowed and her mouth corners sank. "I-I don't know any more black humor..."

"I bet you do."

It was right that Quinn's favorite joke was somewhat dark, but else she felt bad laughing about them, no matter how good the puns were. Her eyes shifted down and she replied insecurely, "no, the one from before was the only one I looked up yesterday..."

Relaxed, he smiled at her with lazy expression, enjoying her discomfort and timid behavior. "Then I dare you to walk up to one of those tables, cry about the loss and end it with a 'just kidding'."

Unpleased about his idea, she shot him a sharp look. "You're the devil."

"Can you, or can you not?"

"I..." Not that she wanted to be the spoilsport, but some things seemed more wrong than others. "I can't..."

Law eyed her a little, seeing that she now felt bad for pulling back in her own game. As fun as it was to watch, he didn't want to let her bear that 'shame', thus suggested her another option. "How about truth then?"

Quinn's face darted back at him. "Alright! I have no secrets!"

He smiled slyly. "Have you ever..." She stared at him in anticipation, Law pausing pretty long for a question. It should be something embarrassing, but not too uncomfortable. Perhaps... "Imagined sleeping with the guy you're dating?"

"What is this question?! Should I also polish your nails?" Quinn asked with red cheeks, not amused at all. She showed two fingers up, saying, " _your_ flaw number two, I recite: uncontrollable curiosity!"

"Anything else would be no fun. And I'm well under control of my curiosity, otherwise, I would ask different stuff."

"Playing with you's not fun, you're so evil...!"

Amused, he smirked. "I can come up with a punishment if you don't tell."

"Alright! I'm ready for the punishment!"

"You're sure? There won't be exceptions for this, you _have_ to be punished like that when I tell you; no negotiation."

Staring at him quietly and repeating his words in her head, she felt more and more uncomfortable by his sly expression that made her uncertain about it. "You're scary..." said she and remained with the blush in her face. "Fine, I pick the truth... I... didn't." Quinn's face sank to the floor while she touched her neck in discomfort. "Okay, maybe slightly. B-but just a tiny baby bit...! Like, not actually sleeping together, but more like, we would _have_ to sleep together! Like, not the act, but more: when we're a couple, i-it's normal! So, nothing sexual, just na-"

"I get it," Law cut her off, flatly. Standing across from her, he rested his elbow on the table and nestled his cheek in his hand.

Quinn narrowed her brows as she just looked against his silent face. "Why are you staring at me like that? I'm very uncomfortable with it. Please stop. Trafalgar. Doctor. Stop. Please. Staaaahp! Doc!"

She was such a weird...

"I'm very embarrassed... stoooop."

...and special woman.

"Law!"

Law's freezing stare thawed. "Miss Heady, you're..." His face shifted down into his palm and a small sigh left him. "I'll be right back."

Not thinking much about his sudden disappearance into the restroom, Quinn began to eat what she had picked. She took out her phone to check on any recent messages and saw that Sabo had texted her, made her lips curl to a smile. She didn't care if he was going to leave in the future for a while, she wanted to live presence and make every moment a joyful memory with him that hopefully lead her to a result she was ready to carry out for the future. If he would leave, it should be worth waiting; or worth to come with him. _Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabooo._

"I bet you're one of those females, the moment they're officially in a relationship, they'll be mentally only there," Law suddenly said while glancing over her shoulder as he returned. Quinn treated this move almost as normal now, and he didn't make a fuzz either and walked back on the other side of the table.

"Hehe, good guess..." she replied wryly. "I'm a very passionate girlfriend, nothing to be ashamed of."

"Thinking about him 24/7, even during a funeral's really not appropriated," he stated.

"I haven't been thinking 24/7 about him, in fact, hm..." Quinn looked thoughtfully to the side. "I really didn't that much today." Her phone notified her for another response and she turned back to smiling, focusing the screen as she was replying to the message.

"Peanut."

"Uhm, wait," Quinn said, her smile widened sincerely as she texted. Sending the message, she looked back to Law. "Yeah?"

"Your food's getting cold."

"Well, I haven't had hope anyway in it staying warm," she responded, semi-interested about its temperature while her eyes glanced back on the display. Noticing his glare still upon, she darted her head back. "I'm sorry, sh-should I put my phone away...?"

"No, go on," Law replied.

"I mean, it's impolite when we're-"

"It's not like we planned to spend the day together, we're just happened to bump into each other."

Quite unsure about it first, she thought about it thoroughly until it sounded logic to her as well so that she felt no bad anymore for being off attention, eager to text the other young man. "Okaaay."

* * *

As Law was sitting in the cab on his way home, his face got lighted by the warm shades of the red sky, carrying the golden sun not away as they drove along. When Harry Dillan had invited him to his funeral, he had expected it to be a quick event he wouldn't think back to; all in all, it had been in the hospital as that man left an impression on him. He had thought he would get there and knew no face but his wife; that before he saw that blonde head around the corner that lifted his mood straight away.

Now Law was alone with the driver since Quinn had gone with Dr. Dillan and her son after she had been spending the whole day with him. He would forget no day he had shared company with her, but even though, today had been significantly different. She was the main reason why he would remember that day so thoroughly. Her presence today affected his mood in so many ways, it was almost confusing how to handle those feelings he was growing for her. He didn't even know what differed her from other women; what it was that attracted him beyond physique. He had enjoyed touching her face today, making her nervous; he had enjoyed holding her, enclosing only them two under the umbrella; he had enjoyed it when she hugged his arm and didn't even let go after he had halted. All those small things that led to nowhere, that were so shallow, so meaningless, he appreciated it strangely.

The day was over way too fast.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Okay, can we have a moment now to appreciate that I got over 30 followers? I know, this is not much compared to the more popular fics here, but for me it's a huge thing, because I never passed the 30 zone (let alone that many positive reviews). Sure, now and then I lose a follower and people stop reviewing, but that's fine, there're still readers who stay with me~! AND I, of course, also appreciate those who don't follow or review, but still read the story :)_

 _I'm gonna be honest with you. I created a second account to upload this fic, because I wanted to see the difference to the fics I normally write to this one here. I usually don't write romance as main plot, especially not AU, and especially not lemon (okay, only one chapter yet and it wasn't Quinn lol). So, the first five chapters of this fic weren't written with the same passion as the other ones that followed. I was positively surprised by the feedback and it made me want to invest more in this fic. Now I ended up with writing as good as every day on it, I'm so glad you enjoy that piece :)_

 _I gotta say, I absolutely love writing slow burn, but it's so satisfying to have the two getting closer and closer lolololo._

 _Anyway, done with the sentimentalism haha._

 _ **Apple Bloom** \- And because of some issues on this site, I thought you all lost interest in my story after I stopped updating regularly hahaha. Don't worry, I try not to hiatus this._

 _ **Nightmare22** \- That definitely sounds logic for a few. The funny thing is, that it isn't only about views but also visitors haha. Anyway, whatever xD_

 _ **rikichancute** \- your English is fine :) thanks!_

 _ **Mell** \- I'm glad you like the idea with Sabo. I, too, find it quite strange when an OC hates Law for no good reason when they first met but instantly falls in love with him, even she had a complete opposite image of how an attractive guy's supposed to be (besides looks). I mean, sure you can't decide who you fall in love with, but some things are still just unrealistic xD_

 _ **Guest** \- I think he's an ass quite a few times hahaha. Perhaps he's jealous ;)?_

 _ **zerom1v** \- Internet xD! Love can conquer everything hahaha_


	32. Murphy's Law

_**A/N:** oh man, finally an update! This chapter took me years to finish, I had been working on it whenever I found time and it turned out quite long. Enjoy it~!_

* * *

 **32\. Murphy's Law**

"Quinn, your horoscope today says your outfit's inappropriate."

In the teacher's room, Quinn looked at her male coworker, blinking at him a few times as she didn't get what problem it displayed. She looked down her body that was clothed with a white button-up shirt and blue polka dot prints, small raffles on the edges while tucked into her jeans.

"White's not your lucky color today," said he and turned a page of the magazine he held in his hands.

"What are you reading?" Quinn asked unimpressed and walked over to him with a tea mug. She sat down and read the title of it. "Murphy's... Law..."

"I've actually waited for you to ask," said the guy and put it down, looking at her. "This is just a magazine about failures, kinda interesting."

"About failure?" she repeated with skeptical eyes. "What's about the name?"

"Murphy's Law? There had been an engineer named Murphy once, who said 'what can go wrong, will go wrong'. Basically he means, when you got something and there's the option to operate it wrong, there'll be always someone who'll do it that way."

"I see..., pretty... negative."

He laughed. "Yeah, the interesting thing's about reading how it would've turned out right. That idiom isn't only use between engineers anymore, you can pretty much transfer it to everything."

Quinn threw the cover another look. "I see... Murphy's law... interesting..." she mumbled and then thought, _Law..._ It sure would be funny if he had a second name called Murphy. Whereby... that guy was somehow blessed with skill and luck, it should be her to bear that name.

"Ah! This evening, there'll be a reading from an author, who wrote a hole book about this subject! If you like, we can go together," her colleague said.

She looked at him and smiled, declining friendly with a small hand wave, "ah, sorry, I already have plans this evening."

"Oh, what plans?"

"Uhm, I meet my friends."

"Oh, your friends. They can come too!" he invited then.

"Uhm, well... actually, we're out to have a relaxed evening, meeting my b- a guy I meet for a couple of weeks."

"Your boyfriend?"

"No no no, he's not my boyfriend...!" she stated and fidgeted her hands frantically in front of her. "We just started dating awhile ago, and-and, yeah, dating and stuff and, you know... tehe."

Her colleague inhaled and let go with a smile. "Oh, this sounds promising. Good luck you two."

"Thank you..." Quinn responded with a light blush, kind of awkward feeling. "I mean, you can go with your wife!"

He grabbed the magazine and opened it again, rolling his eyes with a sarcastic looking smile. "Yeah. My wife. She should better dress up for that."

"Uhh, I bet she will...!"

He sighed and got up from the chair, leaving the room as he mumbled, "yeah, maybe finally after years."

Quinn looked after him with an 'okay?' stare. Well, relationship problems when you're too long in one and couldn't deal with it; she had nothing to say about it.

* * *

"So, you're Sabo," Shachi said as he was eyeing the young blonde man across from him at the table.

"Sabo the Revolutionary," Penguin added, who was to his mate's right.

His questioning look, why both of those were eyeing him in that odd dubious fashion while mentioning his profession, wandered to Quinn, who sat next to him.

She smiled awkwardly. "I-I told them about you...!"

It was in the late evening around nine as the group gathered in the bar (geez, they needed a better meet point), meeting Sabo for the first time. Over a month had it been now since Quinn and he had started dating, also pretty much the same time they all had become friends. She thought they all had gotten close enough to care for each so that it was a good time to introduce one another.

Sabo's eyes glared at her in slight uncertainty about what she exactly had told them, spotted by Judy. "Don't worry, she only told good stuff," answered the brunette nonchalantly, but shifted her eyes slowly to the side while she mumbled, "almost too unrealistic..."

He laughed at the round. "I'm glad to hear that."

It was only his light laughter that sounded as Penguin and Shachi were still analyzing his presence, Judy remaining quiet on the side.

Noticing that weird atmosphere, Quinn gritted her teeth with half-lidded eyes. "Urgh people, you make this awkward." After their first kiss, earning her trust, they met more often as far as he had found the time and she had begun telling him a little about each of her friends, but never imagined their encounter like the current moment. She had introduced them as a _cool_ bunch, not a dead silent glaring troop.

"So Sabo, what does a Revolutionary do?" Shachi asked, eyeing what he saw above the table from the formal and well-dressed guy. "I mean, you as a high-ranked one." No wonder that he never had a chance with Quinn when he was the type rather snugged in his hoodies and T-shirts; maybe she preferred formally dressed guys more.

"Right now I'm just planning and organizing from home," Sabo told, showcasing it as no big thing. "Lots of paper stuff, lots of the communicating things and processing of applications."

"Sounds... unspectacular," the redhead responded quite flat.

Sabo treated his anti-amazement casual though. "Yeah, it's not always that adventurous as some people think."

As Shachi had been asking, Penguin couldn't hold himself eyeing the guy as well to end up with another, unnecessary question. "And how tall are you?"

Though Quinn responded with "what the hell?" humorously, it didn't mean she wasn't curious herself for precise numbers. He must have been the same height as Penguin if she remembered correctly as she graced with her head the tip of both guys noses. Shachi was just a little shorter while Law was the tallest as her head reached his upper lip.

"I think I was... about six-two."

"Ah, I'm a six-one!" Penguin said.

Quinn slimmed her sight and stared into the round. "You're all so... tall..." Not only that, she was also shorter than Judy, thus the shortest among them.

However, Shachi and Penguin's questioning didn't end there. Perhaps it was a mix of envy and interest that made them piercing the new guy so much. "So, as Revolutionary, you're just staying home? Won't there be any demonstration in our town? Or is that city too small?"

"Uhh, we do have something in program next month, but it's not a demo," Sabo answered.

Hearing that, Quinn got excited right away. "Oh! What is it?"

"Our organization holds a public Q&A, such as open discussions in front of the city hall. People who have questions about our work such as critics are welcome to talk to us. Those events bring a lot of new supporters."

"Woah, will you do the talk?"

"I'm responsible for it in this town, so I'll do a big part."

Her excitement grew and she appeared somewhat impatient all of a sudden. "And when is that?"

"On the 3rd June in the early afternoon," he answered her with a casual smile, not expecting much from her fluttering. She behaved like that all the time anyway, amazingly easy to get excited. He was the type to treat many things relaxed, though it was rather him being quite dense.

However, that new information got her indeed happy like a child. "That's in two weeks! Then-then, ohhh, you in action!"

"In action?" he repeated with an amused laugh. "I'm probably just arguing with people and the press."

"Action enough!" Quinn insisted. "This will be probably the first and for the time being - only time I'll see you working!" His work as Revolutionary, especially after knowing his agenda and motivation, had fascinated her since she knew about it. Only the thought of him taking so much responsibility for their projects made her heart flutter with adoration and respect.

Her sudden statement surprised him though. "Uhm... sure, you can come if you want."

Somehow she felt like he took it rather negative, hence her energy backtracked. "You don't want me to come?"

As he looked into her slight saddened face (she wasn't even aware of her facial emotions), a weird and uncomfortable smile overcame him by that misunderstanding. "Of course I want! You're all free to come, it's a weekend. The more, the better."

Judy analyzed his behavior briefly, asking him unimpressed, "and you don't want her to come, simply because she's your _girlfriend_?" That was sure reason enough, just like a child would appreciate the attendance of her parents at her school play.

His face darted over to her and without much thinking, he instantly replied, "ah, I mean, of course, that too."

'Girlfriend?' described Quinn's confused face, totally taken aback as she heard that term and missing contradiction.

Seeing her reaction, Judy found amusement in it and pulled her lips to a laid-back smile, teasing somewhat, "soooo, you're Quinn's new boyfriend, huh?"

Quinn's face tilted up to him and she glared, awaiting another confirmation from his side. "Boy... friend?"

Sabo looked at her like it was clear all the time. Her cheeks turned little red as she kept her big-eyed glare at him, processing the information in her head several times in order to realize it. So, they were a couple now? A real couple? He and her? Her heartbeat began to accelerate just as her breathing getting subtly weaker before she held it completely.

"Quinn?" Sabo asked as he noticed her perplexity.

 _Boyfriend_.

She pushed her butt up and pecked his lips quickly. Surprised by it, his brows lifted up while he suddenly returned the perplexed look on his face.

Realizing what she had done then, she froze for a moment while her face heated in awkwardness. She grabbed his arm and hugged it tightly, hiding her face in it. "I-I'm sorry...!"

It just surprised him, so he stayed calm and looked down on the top of her head while he was still in her grasp.

Watching that, Judy rested her cheek in her palm, hanging with the arm over the table as she calmly focused her embarrassed friend with her smile. "You need to know Sabo, Quinn's a big fan of PDA. I know no one who wants a corny cliched lovey-dovey oversweet relationship more than her."

"That's not true!" Quinn claimed. As she continued to talk, the volume of her voice decreased more and more while her mouth corners raised slowly, "I'm not like that, I'm very good at being sober as well, I don't need this lovey-dovey, I can hold my own hand, I... tehe."

 _She's so cute!_ Penguin and Shachi thought somewhat shocked.

Getting back to questioning him in interrogation-fashion, the redhead leaned forward with a skeptical look. "And weeeell, Sabo the Revolutionary. What do you like about Quinn?"

"Stop asking him so many weird questions," Quinn said, tilting her face to Shachi while her cheek was still pressed to Sabo's arm.

"Hmm, I think it's a normal fair question," Judy added.

Sabo didn't need to think for the answer and responded pretty casual, "she's funny and cheerful."

Instantly, Quinn's face turned back to him and she was glaring full of surprise and disbelief. "You find me funny?"

He looked at her too and nodded. "Yes."

Whatever that guy was saying today, it made her heart flutter and she felt like puking rainbows and fairy-dust. Heart pounding out of happiness, she tried not to grin like an idiot, burying her face slowly back against his arm while she hugged it tightly, mumbling, "he finds me funny..."

"Thaaaat's... it?" Shachi queried with a cocked brow.

"Well," Sabo said and looked swiftly up to think about something else. He smiled and looked at him. "And she smells a little like marshmallow, but I thought this is obvious and in the need of no mention."

"Don't you think it's redundant at any time?" Judy asked, half serious, half joking. "Basically every odor she got smells like it. Shampoo, soap, deo, perfume, I sometimes think I get diabetes when I'm with her."

"Not the slightest," Sabo told. He actually wasn't the type of guy to pay attention about anyone's scent, but marshmallow was familiar and salient that he couldn't leave it unnoticed. It definitely suited her. "Anyway, let's not talk only about me. She had told me about you all, many positive things."

"Oh, she did?" the group said with brows up. Their eyes wandered over to Quinn, who still seemed to be hopping on clouds as she showed no presence and reaction anymore but stared dreamily into space, clung to Sabo's arm.

"I think we've lost her," said Penguin.

The whole bunch fixed her quietly for a moment until Sabo looked back into the round to ask, "so, how's life with you?"

He was more sympathetic than the group had expected (okay, Judy _had_ ), it dropped the dubious tension between them quickly. He was definitely okay, kind enough to ask for his fellow's well-being; he seemed to be a good guy and convinced them so far that their friend would be in good hands. Especially Judy found it relieving to watch. Quinn might see the world rosier now, but it felt legit because Sabo gave off a better vibe than her ex-boyfriend. Much better.

"Weeeell, I have to announce something," Shachi started, raising in posture and confidence on his seat. "You know, I'm just an electronic salesman and-" He stopped as he saw their last participant on the other side of the room, and started to wave. "Oi, Law!"

Casually with his hands in his pockets, the young doctor walked over to their table, noticing the new face in the group right away. A blonde young man could be no other than-

Standing in front of the table, grabbing the last empty chair next to Judy and Sabo where the table corners separated him from both, Law could spot Quinn right next to the guy, linked into his arm.

...Than Sabo.

"What's up," Penguin greeted. "Law, this is Sabo, Quinn's boyfriend."

Before he could even react, he just heard her sassy mumbling, "boyfriend... tehe."

"Don't mind her, she's in her pink cotton candy world right now," Judy said.

"Boyfriend... tehe."

Sabo turned his attention to Law, reaching out his hand. "Yo, I heard about you too," said he and Law shook it as he locked eyes with the stranger while he sat down. The little doubt in what she might have told was detected by Sabo right away, made him treating it nonchalant. "Don't worry, she only told me positive stuff about you all."

"Hello, Doctor," Quinn said in her love drunken voice, still staring ahead into space with a satisfied smile. She seemed bemused, totally out of place, cringely in love.

"You're pretty earlier than expected," Penguin said, just as surprised as the rest that knew him (but Quinn).

"Yeah, I've declined extra hours today," Law replied.

" _You_ declined?!' Shachi spoke everyone's thought out loud. It was not like Law wouldn't have the guts to say 'no', in fact, he had the guts of all guts, but for any reason he always chose to work, thus making those words, _out of his mouth,_ surreal.

Sabo had not much to say about their (or more Shachi's) reaction and continued with a question as he noticed Law's silence to it. "You're working at the same hospital as Dr. Dillan, right?"

"Yeah."

"How was your day?" Judy wanted to know.

"Nothing spectacular happened."

Curious as always, Shachi asked, "did anyone die?"

"Yeah."

His answer and attitude to it was so dry that it surprised Sabo. "Wow, must be pretty... daily for a doctor."

"Not daily but also not rare."

"I just heard, Dr. Dillan's husband died recently in the hospital due to lung cancer. You and Quinn attend the funeral together, right?"

The gray eyes swiftly drifted down to the girl and back up to her guy. "We happened to meet there."

"Well, Quinn said you've spent the day together, so basically the same," said Sabo with a friendly smile. He was smiling a lot.

Law raised a brow. "She did?"

As they looked at her again, she was still gone while she was playing with Sabo's hand, her satisfaction in her face never faltering.

It looked like she was so much in love, she became stupid. _Flaw number four, exaggerating things_ , Law thought somewhat annoyed. "You as her boyfriend, you can convince her to do a heart check."

"What do you mean?" Sabo asked back.

"She has a heart failure but refuses to go. I know nothing particular about it but only the fact that it's there and-" Judy probably knew about her mother, but he wasn't sure if she had told anyone else, thus stopped for the sake of her privacy.

"A heart failure?!" Penguin said shocked. "Why isn't she going?!"

Indeed. Looked like she hadn't told anybody but Judy since she remained calm about the information.

Sabo tilted his face down to her. "Yo Quinn."

"Yes," she responded, her eyes still absent.

"Go to the doctor."

"Okay."

Just as anyone else, Judy witnessed her answer in disbelief and slit her eyes. "That's the might of her being in love."

"Oi Peanut," Law spoke to her with a rough undertone. "If you say so, do it."

She gave him no response, leaving the bunch in silence. Geez, that annoying woman...

From Sabo's pocket sounded a quiet melody then. "Ah sorry, I get a call," he said and pulled his cell phone out, staring on the display to check the contact. He loosened Quinn's hand from his' slowly as he tried to get up, her face following him as he remarked to his phone before he left the table to answer the call. She was still glaring after him, even he had disappeared around the corner.

"You back?" Judy asked.

Quinn took a deep breath and turned to the group with a smile she had been holding. "He's awesome, right?"

"A good boy."

"Yes, a hero, teeeeheee."

The brunette exchanged doubting looks with the others as her friend still looked somewhat lost in her dreams. "What is 1 + 1?" Penguin asked.

"Love," Quinn responded, cupping her own pink cheek with a smile that just screamed 'in love'. She shook her head as she realized her stupid answer. "I-I mean two."

"Miss Heady, I expect you in the hospital next week."

Her face turned to him with a blank stare, which she kept for a few seconds until she pointed out her tongue at him.

"Quinn, Law's right," Judy said. "You know you have a problematic heart."

Sighing, Quinn leaned back. "If it's so bad, my previous doctor would've told me."

Law was unimpressed about her relaxed and carefree statement. "Then tell me what he had told you exactly."

"Uhm... Just a weak dysfunction of my valves or so, but nothing to worry."

"And he only prescribed you medications?"

"He also talked about surgery, but it didn't look necessary to me," she told. "I mean, look, I'm al- Hey, Doc!" Law grabbed her wrist as he had gotten up, pulling her away from her chair, surprising everyone. "What are you doing?" she asked while she stumbled with him after she had failed in freeing herself from his hand. They stopped at a quiet corner in the other part of the bar and he let go of her. "What is...?"

"You're not only scared of surgery, right?" Law said. "Because the hospital your mother had been so incompetent, you hold a grudge against physicians."

Quinn furrowed her brows. "What do you want from me?"

Annoyed he stepped closer to her, telling her like for idiots, " _I_ want _you_ to let someone check on your heart."

"Didn't you say it's up to me?"

As she stared with her determined and displeased face at him, Law narrowed his brows. Was she serious? "Fine, when you die, just bear in mind whom you leave behind. You've just said yes when he asked you, so I expected you to do. You really should've control over yourself instead of agreeing to anything he says."

"I don't do that!" she claimed. "Why do you care anyway?!"

"So, you don't listen to me because I'm a physician, but to him right away because he's some guy you like? But then when he's gone, you're out of your stupidity and continue being stubborn for nothing?"

Quinn's eyes widened in her annoyance. "He's not just _some_ guy."

Law rolled his. "I'm sorry because he's now your _boyfriend_."

Her lips tightened to a bow down and she mumbled, "...yes."

"And _I'm_ your _doctor_."

His alpha tone was not in her please and she bit her tongue, staring to the side. "If you're worried about me, you just can tell me that nicely..."

Law gasped quietly to her statement, looking somewhat irritated at her. "I just feel obliged to tell you as a doctor," claimed he and withdrew.

Slightly confused, Quinn stared at him until he left her alone in the corner. With a sigh, she slumped against the wall while her mind digested the ever returning conversations about her heart. It just had been sweet of him to insist for her check as she had thought he was worried, but feel obliged as a doctor? Well, she hadn't paid him a visit in the hospital for months, he was obliged to nothing.

"Are you alright?" Sabo pulled her out of her thoughts quickly as he had walked up to her without her noticing.

Just the right time to distract her. She smiled and nodded, getting away from the wall. "Who was that?"

"Nothing important," said he, returning her casual smile.

Grinning teasingly, Quinn stepped to his side with both hands clasped behind her back, and she looked up at him, standing on her toes. "Therefore that it wasn't important, it was pretty loooong."

"It was just work," he told.

Quinn got curious. "Oh, what is it? Did your assistant call you?"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her with him. "Come, let's go back."

Her eyes darted down to their interlocking and she carried a tensed smile, trying not to squeal. Who cared that he ignored her question when this time _he_ took the initiative, since the last time he did was when he had asked her out. Men hands were so much bigger, she loved the cliched look of her pale hand, wrapped in his. _Don't squeal, you're together now, treat it casual!_

Honestly, Sabo didn't seem to be the type for this corny romantic relationship; he was even too dense to read her signs; but Quinn was okay with it. He was cute, kind, respectful and adapted to her; different to her pervert ex, who had used to touch her in public the whole time. _Gaaaawd!_ she squealed mentally. _Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabooo._

Sighting the two together, Judy noted, "look at those cuties. Holding hands."

Returned to the table and seated, Sabo said, "sorry, that was an important call, where were we?" His eyes wandered over to Shachi. "You wanted to tell something."

Wow, Shachi liked that guy already as this was quite attentive of him. "Yeah! Sooo, I'm just an electronic salesman, right?" he began, looking with a big grin into the round. "Right? Right?"

"Dude, go on," said Penguin a little annoyed about his tension.

"Well!" the redhead bumped his hands on the table. "All the years I've been working, I put a part of my money aside."

"Aside?" Penguin repeated. 'That's why your salary sucked?"

Shachi shook his head with confidence. "It never sucked, I just saved money to... drumroll please." Penguin hit his arm lightly so that he would go on right away without the stupid drumroll. "Have my own retail shop!"

"What? No waaay!" Quinn commented.

"Yes! Coming month I get the keys, and it's right in the city center!"

"Why didn't you tell me?!" his mate asked and pointed with his thumb to himself. " _Me?!_ Your best bro!"

"Because you're an annoying, discouraging idiot as hell," Shachi answered, but treated his commentary semi-important as he didn't even look at his mate.

"Soo, did you buy a franchise, or what?" Judy wanted to know, sitting with her elbows at the table, her hands folded.

"No, I wanna make my own name," he told.

Her brows rose, surprised about his confidence. "You're gonna sell electronics, right?'

He nodded. "Hn, it's what I know best."

"Sounds like lots of work, good luck then," said Sabo.

"It will, but that'll be okay," he stated, convinced about the future. "Thanks."

Quinn raised a little from her chair, lifting her arm straight up. "Ohhh, I wanna help with the interior!"

Shachi was glad to hear her support. "Ah, I think some feminine help's really needed."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Penguin mumbled while his head shook from side to side.

"But now you know."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" he repeated louder, looking at his friend. "I would've taken holidays now to help you with the renovation, but you just didn't tell me! I can't believe that."

"Penguin's acting like a mad wife," Quinn remarked, amused.

"I don't need your help."

"Fine! Then not!"

"I have other friends too who would help."

"Liar."

"I feel like watching a TV show for housewives," Judy commented as well.

"Urgh! Come one, Law, take three days holiday too and we help him out!"

"What?" Law said with a cocked brow. "You want me to take _holidays_ to eventually _work_ somewhere else?"

"Yes!"

Of course, Shachi would love the help of Law, but he showed himself reserved to it. "What are you saying, you can't just involve Law into this as you want!"

Penguin rolled his eyes. "Geez, you have no other friends who would help you."

"Come, I take holidays too then," Judy said.

"What? J-Judy?!" The redhead blushed by those words, looking at her more surprised as when Law would say it.

"Ohh, that'll be fun!" Quinn said, excited. "All together!"

Stoic as always, Law noted, "I never said yes."

It didn't turn down her good mood though, so that she added "except for him," unaffected.

Listening to their group planning, Sabo rubbed the back of his head with an awkward smile. "Well, I feel weird now as a third party."

"You don't have to," Shachi replied. "You're not a third party!"

"I mean, when I got time I can try catching up too."

Quinn's eyes started to sparkle as he said that and she hugged him. "Ohhh! That would be very cool! I mean, you'd be still cool if not, but woah! That would be cool!"

Shachi gave the guy a thumbs up. "You're always welcome now!"

Law didn't want to interpret too much into this, but he observed Sabo's reaction rather as a smile for the matter of modesty instead of any real joy. And still, Quinn was blinded even her sense for people's emotions and mimic reading was quite good. He mentally rolled his eyes to her over-exaggerated happy behavior. Or was he really just interpreting too much?

"Anyway, I bought something to celebrate that!" Shachi leaned down to the bag under his chair, pulling out a bottle of red wine. "So! I bought this here before you all came, and if it's gonna be a success, I'll buy something more expensive!"

"Someone's confident," Penguin said.

"See! Discouraging!"

"I was just kidding."

Clapping her hands with a smile, Quinn said sarcastically, "good that I'm a total drinker!"

The redhead had forgotten that she didn't drink and looked at her. "Ah sorry, Quinn, I'll buy you any drink you want."

"Naaaw, sweet! But I'm fine, thanks," she responded and her face moved up to Sabo then. "Do you drink?"

He scratched his head and tried to decline discreetly, even he was one. "I feel wrong when I'm having something of this."

"Pfft, just take it," Judy said, her hand dunked in the air.

As Shachi held the bottle with both hands and stared at the cork, his happy smile switched to insecurity. "...I'm scared to open this." He looked at Law. "Cap, you go?

"Why don't you ask me?!" asked Penguin.

"Mad wife Mrs. Penguin," Judy commented calmly with entertained half-lidded eyes and a languid smile and brow twitch.

"Because the last time, you failed miserably just like me," Shachi answered and shifted the bottle over the table to Law.

The latter took it and mumbled, "you guys..." Law didn't think much as he was opening the bottle, loosening the cork carefully from the bottleneck. As he loosened it and intended to pull the cap out slowly, it seemed to be jammed. "I think we need a cor-"

The bunch startled.

Judy shrunk after a loud pop had sounded as the cork blasted out of the hole in less than a second, hitting the young woman. She held her face and sank to the table, making briefly no sound.

"Oh god, are you alright?!" Quinn shouted worried and got up, running over to her.

"Ah, fuck..." the brunette mumbled and slowly straightened again, covering her left eye with her fingers. "It hit my eye..."

Law stared at her, a little perplexed about that accident he had caused. Something so ham-handed had never happened to him before, he used to be far away from any kind of clumsiness. "I'm sorry, I-" said he, but cut himself off as he realized his incompassionate tone. He avoided their eyes as he got up. "My mistake. I'll get you an ice pack."

He left then and Judy looked at her swollen eye through the little mirror in her powder case.

"I guess that'll be a big contusion," said Penguin worried.

Judy sighed while her finger tapped around the swollen spot. "Well, it feels like that."

"Okay, guess we three fail in open a wine bottle...?" Shachi said, sounding unsure about the situation.

"Maybe Cap just had a bad day," Penguin added as if he had to comfort his mate's mind. Well, he actually needed to comfort his own belief.

The redhead nodded and talked himself into that random theory. "Yeah, that must it be."

Listening to the two, Quinn squinted her eyes a little and shook her head, mumbling "what the hell..." How could someone admire a person so much to a stadium where they even looked for excuses in their flaws? And then it were even two on a spot. Weird.

...

At the bar, Law talked to the waitress, who stood with her back to him, drying her hands. "Sorry, can you give me a cool pack."

"Sure you can, I-" she paused as she had turned around to face the young man.

Quietly, they were staring into each other's eyes. While he stood there patiently and bored in look, he felt her analyzing stare on him, doing no more than that. But as she continued to stay froze on the spot for more than a few seconds, Law said, "can I have one now?"

She blinked a few times and then began to move again. "Of course." From the little freezer underneath the bar, she got out said ice pack in a cloth and handed him it without loosing her focus on him.

"Thanks." Law grabbed it. His brows narrowed and he gave her a 'stop freaking stare at me like that' look before he headed back to the others. Normally, he was used to stares and didn't care about those, but not on his bad days (or evenings).

As he got back, he gave Judy the ice pack. Just as Quinn, he returned to his seat and remained quiet afterward. Surprisingly, the group didn't make a big fuzz about it anymore, in fact, all their thoughts were somewhere else. Judy was eyeing her black eye; Penguin and Shachi argued about anything random again; and well, the new couple was... a couple. So much that Law didn't even have the wish to listen to them and blanked out whatever the conversation was about. Maybe he should mind his own business too.

"Ah, we need five glasses," Shachi said. His eyes aimed a young attractive waitress that walked nearby. "Excuse me?"

She stopped at their table with a tray in her hand. It was the same girl as before at the bar Law had talked to. "How can I help?"

"Can you bring us five empty glasses?" asked Shachi. She didn't respond but kept her blinkless stare on Law just as she had done previously. He returned the stare with a cold expression, until the redhead cut it, "s-sorry...?"

Her eyes widened with a smile as if she just found back to reality. "Of course you'll get five glasses!"

Exchanging awkward looks with each other after she was gone, one said quite confused, "what was that?"

They shrugged their shoulders or shook their heads to emphasize their shared cluelessness about that weird waitress. Law, however, was calm about it and figured that he had seen her before, and the more he thought about it, the more he knew it hadn't been just her face he had seen.

"Oh god, I think I know what's going on," Penguin said, and all eyes shifted over to him. "Uh..." He looked briefly over to Law, whose flat expression taught him about his own awareness, and made him choose to rather keep his mouth closed. "Ah no, never mind."

"I bet you five bucks she holds a grudge against Trafalgar," Quinn said.

"I bet you five she has a crush on him," Judy countered.

"Nah, she _had,_ but he was an ass so that she dislikes him now."

Shachi looked from side to side at both girls. "A bet about Law again?"

Law raised a brow, unamused about what he heard. "Again?"

"I bet you five then that she's..." He pondered swiftly with his eyes to the ceiling before he continued with the next random possibility, "puzzling if she had seen him before."

"Oi, what's 'again' supposed to mean?" Law asked displeased.

The redhead looked over to Sabo. "Wanna bet too?"

"I don't even know him to come up with any theory," he replied and declined with a small wave.

"Who cares?" Quinn said from his side and grinned slightly. "It's fun!"

"Oi! Don't ignore me!" Law complained.

"Hm..." Sabo rubbed his chin. "Then I bet you five she just happened to stare at him when she's lost in thoughts."

Seeing that they still refused to pay him attention, he slumped annoyed back with gritted teeth, giving up. Why was he even here anyway? He could have been home now and sleep instead of wasting his evening in the bar again.

Quinn looked over to Law. "You alright, Doc?"

With a weary expression, he returned a look. Was she really asking him that after they hadn't bothered his existence at that table?

Shachi laughed a little. "Oh Cap, it's just for fun! Don't be so mad."

Mad? He wasn't mad! With folded arms, he muttered, "do as you please," and stared away.

The waitress came back with a tray of five empty glasses and a few small drinks she carried for other customers. "Five glasses. Sorry, it took somewhat longer," said she and put the requested items down, her eyes wandering instantly to Law again.

This time, he took the effort and eyed her expression thoroughly to figure out what her issue was. The stare was definitely anything but friendly, rather bitchy. Maybe he should ask. "Is there a reason for your stare?"

She blinked. "Sorry, what?"

"Your stare."

"You're Law Trafalgar."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Quinn's sudden little anxious straightening from the chair as the waitress showed that she knew his name, thus another step to her 'grudge-theory'.

"Correct," he confirmed then flatly.

"Uhm, you know who I am?" the waitress asked and pointed to herself. "I'm the girl you banged and left like an ass in the morning."

"Ca-ching!" Quinn shouted promptly with both hands in the air and big joy. She fell back quietly with an uncomfortable smile as she noticed only the silence within the round while all eyes glared at her. "I mean, my bet, you know... five bucks from each and... I'm sorry. Please continue."

The waitress inhaled and smiled pretty sarcastic at Law with a loud and clear exhale of displeasure. "Anyway, he didn't even say _good morning_ or _goodbye_ but left like an ass. I gave him my number and he never called back, not even to say 'no'. Any sorry?"

Ah, right, just as he had thought; one of _those_ girls he had slept with. "I don't know what you've expected from that night, Miss, bu-"

"Jerk!" she cut him and splashed water from a glass in his face. The group watched the surprising moment perplexed and the waitress put the glass back on the tray and turned away with an arrogant expression, leaving them with confident posture.

After their eyes had followed her, they looked back at Law, who sat there quietly, not moving a muscle.

"Wow, what was _that_?" Judy asked and looked over to Penguin. "Did you see that coming?"

"Ah, no," he responded. "I mean, I recognized her as one of the women Law had slept with, but-" His eyes darted over to Sabo, who was listening with a plain face, and Penguin slightly started to panic. "D-don't think he's the kinda guy to get a girl's number just to bed her and never call back!"

"Yeah, Law's not like that!" Shachi supported him and nodded frantically. "That one was just a little weird!"

"Well, I didn't say anything..." Sabo responded. "I mean, it's his business."

"Ouh, Doc," Quinn said and shook her head slowly. "What comes around goes back around." Only seeing his silent look at her, she rolled her eyes with a smile. "Kidding, don't look at me with that death stare."

"I guess you can ignore that bitch," Judy commented. "It's her fault to expect so much. I bet you told her it's just a one-nighter."

Law remained quiet to everything that had happened. He didn't care what that waitress' problem was, he didn't care what Sabo thought about him, he didn't care what _she_ thought about him. That day seemed to be not his day, it got exhausting quickly, too much as that he would have any power to waste to complain etc.

"Anyway!" Shachi said and pulled the five glasses to him, starting to fill each.

As he shifted one by one to everyone (except for Quinn), Penguin noticed that he received, compared to the others, as good as nothing. "Why do I get just a little?" asked he slightly irritated.

"Because you actually shouldn't drink in your condition," Shachi answered as a matter of fact.

"This is a month ago, I'm alright to drink!"

Searching for validation in his statement, Shachi looked over to Law, who indeed confirmed quietly, "he's not."

Penguin pulled a long face and took the glass with the little wine, sipping it with a grumpy attitude.

"Oh Penguin, he's only caring for you," Quinn said with a small snicker.

"Yeah, appreciate it more, you idiot," said Shachi.

"Whaaa? You didn't even appreciate when I offered my help!" His mate scoffed at the disinterested looking guy. "Wanna fight?!"

But Shachi kept his behavior and sipped nonchalantly from his glass. "In your condition, you'll fight like a girl anyway."

"Whaaaat?" Quinn and Penguin exclaimed synchronously, and the guy's pair of eyes wandered confused over to the girl, who suddenly looked equally mad.

"That's pretty sexist!" Quinn stated. "I bet there're girls beating you up easily!"

"How about Quinn arm wrestling with Shachi?" Judy suggested amused.

Embarrassed that she put him on a level of a girl, he blushed and suggested back, madly, "what about _you_ versus Quinn!"

Judy declined right away quite casual, "ah no no, I'm too weak for that, I would lose anyway."

"Arm wrestling! Arm wrestling!" Shachi cheered into Judy's soon annoyed face. And honestly, what was more awesome than two good-looking women using their physical strengths against each other?

"No."

She ended up wrestling against her friend anyway. Sitting across from each other, Judy tried hard to push Quinn's arm down, looking anything but elegant. Her elbow lifted automatically by her attempt to win and Quinn grinned sassy, pushing into the opposite direction with less strain until the back of Judy's hand touched the table.

"Win for Quinn!" Penguin said and clapped his hand.

Exhausted, Judy sighed and slumped back into her chair. "Satisfied? I told you, geez..."

Shachi shifted his sleeve up to his elbow and aimed his arm towards Sabo. "Hey Sabo, how is it?"

"Ohhh, he's calling out the new!" Penguin said with his fist to his lips.

Challenged, Sabo glanced from his hand to his face. He smirked a little and pulled his sleeve up as well, taking the redhead's hand. "Alright."

Quinn was excited about it and moved her chair right between those two at the corner, folding her arms over the table. "Three, two, one, go!"

As soon as Quinn had given the go, Shachi started to push against Sabo's hand and realized how he had underestimated him totally. He gritted his teeth as their linked hands only vibrated between them, and his eyes moved up to the guy, staring into his confident face.

"He looked like he'd struggle," Judy commented.

Penguin bunched closer and held his eyes anxiously on the level of their fists. "C'mon Shachi!"

"Sssshut..." the redhead groaned and tensed all the muscles in his arm so that he managed to push Sabo's arm a little down. The blonde young man smirked and pushed back easily until they hit the table.

"Woooh! Win for Sabo!" Quinn called out in joy with both hands in the air.

"Ouuuh Shach," Penguin mocked with a broad grin.

Shachi exhaled out loud, saying exhausted, "gosh, you're damn strong. You should try against Law..." That he had managed to move his hand a little was only because Sabo had _played_ with him, he had felt that.

That suggestion excited Quinn even more, let her eyes grow. "Ohhhh! I wanna see that too!"

Law, however, was rather less fond of the idea and asked dryly "what?" as if no one asked him for his opinion again.

"Pleaaaase doctor!" Quinn said and glared at him with a tight-lipped smile and sparkling puppy eyes.

What the hell that ever was...

"Go go go go go!"

He rolled his eyes slightly to the side and straightened annoyed, putting his elbow on the table. "Fine."

Not understanding the fuzz about it, Sabo asked Law, "are you the alpha here or what's going on?"

The question might have been sincere, but he also spoke with a light provoking undertone, thus Law smirked about it, replying, "pretty cocky for your age."

Sabo returned a challenging smirk and took his hand, getting into position. "For my age? You're only 25, buddy."

"Far from 22 though," Law said, provoking back.

"Three, two, one, gooo!"

They started to push and just as with the fight before, their hands stayed in the middle while their arms tensed sightable, the guns growing on both sides.

"Oh geez!" Shachi said shocked and shared the thrill with the other spectators.

Their hands became sweaty soon and both narrowed their brows, staring into each other's eyes while the tension within their hands built. They pushed both and let the hands in the middle moved only millimeter-wise from right to left, so that the difference was not worth to mention. The veins in their forearms began to throb as each's strength challenged them notably.

"Not bad, more than I expected," Law said with a wide smirk. Silently he took a deep breath to accumulate his force, pushing harder to move his opponent's arm slowly towards the wooden surface, confidence spread on his face.

Also, Sabo got way more to fight in this round than he had assumed. "Then..." said he and expanded a cocky grin with flexed eyes. "Have you expected that?" His whole grip grew one level more in tension and he suddenly pushed Law's arm back, quickly down against the table.

Law lost. The bunch was speechless for a moment, staring jaw-slacking at the two.

The table hushed.

"I'm so turned on right now," Judy said with blank eyes.

"Judy!" Quinn scolded lightly with a mad blushing face.

Penguin shook his head, still in disbelief. "He just beat Law..."

"Is this reality?" Shachi added perplexed.

Law was still in his end-position, staring. This _was_ reality. He had lost against this guy. Unexpectedly. But things were how they were; there was always someone stronger; there was no reason to feel ba-

"Naaaaw!" Quinn jumped up and glomped onto Sabo. She hugged him tightly as he sat there, his face tilting up to her and got surprised as she suddenly pressed his face into her chest, made him struggling to get out there.

Geez, that woman...

 _'That lucky guy!_ ' Penguin and Shachi thought with angry jealousy, remaining shocked and quiet though as they bore the moment.

Sabo pulled out his blushing face and gasped for air. Having his face pressed into female breasts was definitely new.

She fell back on her butt and hugged onto him tightly, her head leaned against his chest. "Trafalgar's super strong and scary and-and, you still could compete to him, and-and-and you won," she said with squinted eyes and adoration, "you're so strong..."

"And you made fun of me losing against him," Shachi scoffed somewhat at Penguin.

"I didn't expect that!" he responded, still pretty baffled.

Was that so surprising that someone else had won? Why were they making a big scene out of it, it was corrosively annoying.

"You alright, Doc?" Quinn asked him again, and he looked over to her. "You look a little... tense."

"Just your imagination."

"Not because you..." A grin pulled slowly over her lips. "Lost?" Law pinched slightly the bridge of his nose and took his wine glass, sipping from it as his gaze drifted away. Not stopping to grin, she lowered her lids half-over her eyeballs. "Since when are you a bad loser?"

"Oh Quinn, don't be so mean," Judy told her.

She ignored it though and continued to ask in mockery, "how is it to have someone in your way?"

In his way?

"Taking your alpha title?"

His alpha what? Were they animals now? Was she comparing herself to some animal that was attracted to the alpha male or what the fuck was her problem? Law looked at Sabo. "Your girlfriend's annoying."

He smiled casual, patting her while she was still glaring provocatively at him. "Yeah, sorry, she has a big mouth."

"Someone... to steal something that should belong to you?"

God, since when was she _that_ annoying?

"And... someoooone... that shows you, you can't have everything hehe!"

Law stared back at her, idle and unamused about her stupid teasing. "What do you try, Peanut?"

She pouted and hugged her face tighter to Sabo's chest, looking at Law in huff. "Where are your witty backfires? This is not fun when you're mad."

"I'm not mad," Law stated annoyed.

"Then..." Her smile returned and she continued to tease him. "You better should've been less convinced about yourself. Your attitude's always soooo arrogant and cocky."

"You think another attitude would've changed the result?" Sorry that he wasn't a sunshine like Sabo. _Sorry not sorry._

"Yeah," she said, "like Judy. She knew she would lose, so it's less embarrassing."

"..."

"I don't think he's embarrassed," Judy commented, adding mumbling, "and I was neither..." (she was.)

Penguin agreed. "He looks pretty carefree in my eyes."

Nonchalant in cross-legged position, swaying his wine glass while his lips occasionally linked to it, Law claimed, "just your imagination again."

"Well, not embarrassing, but invites me to pick on you," Quinn corrected but wasn't convinced about the idea that nothing bothered him regarding that lost game. For her, it seemed obvious, make her rather questioning the eyesight of the others. But anyway, if they believed and he stated so, she wouldn't turn back to picking on him. Her head tilted up to the guy she hugged onto, seeing him staring pensively into space. "Sabo?" ask she then, but received no reaction. "Saaaaboo."

He looked down at her. "Hm?"

"God, what's with you two today," Quinn said and straightened again. "Both so suspense and sunken in thoughts."

Getting up, Sabo pulled out his cell phone. "I have to call someone, sorry."

"Work?" Quinn asked.

"No, Ace."

She smiled and saluted as she looked up at him. "Okaaay, no stress!" His brothers were important to him, so Quinn never placed herself in front of those and it made her even happy to see him so bonded with them. As he was gone, she turned back to Law with a blank smile.

"What?" asked he.

Quinn moved over to Sabo's chair and shifted it and herself closer to the table corner, hence to him. "Loser hehe."

He narrowed his brows. "Any problem with it?"

"No, I even find it somehow cute that you've lost," said she and grabbed his cheeks, pinching both. "You're becoming cuter day by day, doctor."

Irritated about it, he stared with appalled eyes at her. What the actual hell was she talking? She was in a good mood and enjoyed how he reddened a little as he grunted quietly as a threat, "let go."

"Oh Quinn, you can't call a man cute," Judy stated.

"Yeah, Law is cool!" Penguin added, confused about the situation.

Also Shachi found it weird. "And manly...!"

"But I like cute," said Quinn and looked at the two other guys. "You accept it too when I call you so; does it mean you're not manly?"

"What?! Of course we are...!"

"Oi Peanut..." Law muttered and she shifted her gaze back to him, facing his blushing yet frowning face. "Let go of me."

"No," she replied, simple. "Hmmm, your skin is so dry, you should moisturize it more."

He gritted his teeth and reddened even more while he attempted to pull away from her. But the more he tried, the brighter she smiled into his face. Geez, that smile... Annoyed, he held her hands and tugged them off in a rough jerk. "Let. Go!"

The bunch flinched as he hit the wine bottle. It was too fast to avoid the fall and the red liquid poured over the table. Quinn grabbed it panicky and placed it back on its bottom while the wine was floating from the edge of the table, dripping on her jeans and shirt.

"Oh geez," Judy said as her clothes soaked the drink quickly, a big red stain grew over the white fabric. "Looks no good."

Quinn leaned back and sighed. "Ah, my horoscope warned me not to wear white today, and I don't even believe in that stuff. Red wine hardly get out right?"

"I think you gotta treat it right away, but in the bar it's a little complicated..." Penguin replied and put some tissues on the puddle.

"I'm sorry, I was careless," Law said.

"Happens." Her brows furrowed and she looked at the shirt. "We can't change it now. I just should've let go..."

Law narrowed his brows.

The others looked at her with compassion.

Silence.

 _Inappropriate he said..._

Quinn's mouth corners sank deep down.

"Quinn...?" Shachi asked, as he noticed the quick change of her expression.

"Nnnnhhhh," she began to whine, "ouh maaan, this was one of my favorite shirts. I'm so stupid! I should've let go of his cheeks! This is instant karma. Or have I done anything else bad? Maybe in my previous life? Booooh, now it's ruined! How am I supposed to find the same shirt again? It was veeeery expensive and-and-and it's sooo old. Maaaan, this sucks..." She hung her head from her neck and pouted. "Or maybe this is because I scolded one of my students last week... I regretted it already, this is not fair. I mean, well, Karma is the logic of fairness, so it's fair... oh man, meeeeh..."

"Gosh girl, you're talking nonsense. Some students deserve scolds; Law was careless and apologized for it; period," Judy said annoyed. "And now stop that whimpering, we're gonna buy you a new and better one."

"But-but-but... okay..."

They checked the content of the bottle and there was still a lot left, hence one worry vanished and they continued to consume it happily (except for Quinn, of course. She would avoid red wine in the future). The time passed and after half an hour, Sabo still hadn't returned.

Quinn clinked out from the table activity and hung with her head on her hand over the table, staring into the direction he had disappeared while in the back the laugh of her woozy friends sounded (and a desperate Penguin that was still sober and had to deal with those). She might respect his bond to his brother, but wondered what so important concern he got that he needed to call him within the meet. It must be really important, maybe Ace got problems on his way back? Maybe flight delay? Maybe ticket and money issues? Maybe anything else.

"What's wrong, Peanut?"

Her eyes moved to Law, who sat there laid-back and glared at her. He was pretty calm compared to the rest that had gotten quite loud. Hopefully, Judy wasn't drinking too much... Quinn directed a small smile at him. "I'm worried about Sabo." Law raised a brow and she straightened. "He's probably still on the phone with his brother, I'm just worried that anything bad happened."

"Breaking your mind about this now won't change anything. You should simply ask him later or wait until he tells you," Law responded. "Maybe you're just paranoid."

Quinn gasped out a weak laugh. "Maybe. But why should he have a long call with him _now?_ "

"Three, possibilities. Either he's not as respectful as you think and is bored here; something had happened; or his brother only found time to call him at this moment. I don't know how long they haven't seen each other, but well, you know."

"Pretty long," Quinn said. "You're right, I'm breaking my head for nothing now." She sighed and smiled at him. "I'm actually just scared that I did anything wrong."

"When you mean by that being extremely cheesy and loud, suffocating him in your chest-"

"Wha-? I haven't done that...!" Quinn stated with pink cheeks.

Law quirked both brows as his gaze drifted swiftly aside.

She looked down on her feet, getting embarrassed about it. "I did? Oh god, I'm sorry..."

"Don't be sorry at me, it's not like it was my face," he replied.

"Uh, yeah, y-you're right," she said and felt even more embarrassed that he even had to say it like that. Trying to calm down, she breathed in deeply and sighed everything out with a small whistle. "I haven't had a boyfriend in three years, I'm just scared that it won't work out like the last time."

He eyed her thoughtful stare into space thoroughly as she recalled old memories. "Well, he seemed to be a decent guy."

Quinn nodded. "He is. He's wonderful," said she, smiling. "It's just... what if I'm not good enough?" Her face lowered. "I dunno Trafalgar, I'm... I dunno, I don't think I'm a bad person, but there must be a reason why people rather choose to objectify me or see nothing serious in me. Like I'm just a dreamer that expects too much from my partner, or just a stupid naive child..."

"This sounds like fetishes on innocent girls," Law responded, amused.

"Yeah, a bit. Oops." She giggled a little. "Anyway, I'll try my best as a girlfriend this time."

"This time?" Law queried somewhat. "You make it sound like it was your fault that your ex was a bastard."

"I dunno, maybe it was," she replied. "Maybe he did like me, but saw the low potential as we got together so that he decided to- ouch!"

"Flaw number five, low confidence."

She rubbed a small spot on her forehead that he had snapped. "I thought we were at four?"

"No, five," he said. "You're talking very huge bullshit. There's no way that bastard had liked you in any way. Stop whining so much if you're a good girlfriend or not, it's annoying."

Still holding the spot, she looked into his bored face, saying, "meh, sorry for bothering you with it. I don't know anyway why I tell you, I sometimes forget you lack on emotions to understand."

He smirked a little. "Annoyance's my major emotion since you."

"Annoyance also describes best what you are," she responded.

Judy suddenly hung onto Quinn from behind. "Ohh Quinny, I heard your pussy whining from 100 yards away."

"You're drunk again?"

"I'm just a little tipsy," she giggled, kissing the blonde's cheek. "Wine has another effect on me."

Quinn smiled wryly. "I see..." In what sense 'different'?

She laughed and hit her back, sitting on the neighbor chair. "Uff, don't worry guuurl! The moment he sees you naked, he'd regret leaving ya!"

"Judy...!" Quinn said embarrassed.

"Right Law? She's goooorgeous."

Law's brow rose. "You're sure your friend's not... bi-sexual?"

"I-, I dunno," Quinn replied uncertain, looking at Judy as that nestled from behind, her head on her shoulder, wrapping her arms around her, the wine glass still in her hand.

"Hey, you wanna know what the redhead just confessed to me?" Judy asked.

Quinn's eyes gazed at her laterally, unsure if she wanted to hear that confession. She ended up with spoken curiosity though. "What...?"

The brunette kept her look into space, whispering loud enough for Law to hear, "he jerked one off by the thought of you after your first encounter."

"NO!"

"Oh yes, he did," she said and straightened a little, turning around to Shachi and Penguin. "Right redhead?!"

Just no, no, no, no. He was a sweet guy, he wouldn't do that. Desperate in her belief, Quinn stated, "no, he didn't!"

They looked at her, the redhead obviously drunk and laid back on his chair. "If you told her my secret, uhhh..." Penguin face palmed as Shachi raised his arm with his wine glass, shaking his head calmly. "I'm sorry Quinn, I never did it again after knowing ya. Ya a good girl."

Her face distorted to a mix of disgust, shock and disappointment. "Eww, Shachi..."

"Ouh Quinny." Judy put one arm around her shoulder and sighed. "You've gotta know, in the world of men, hot blue-eyed blondes equals fuck toys, you slowly should get used to it. The faith of a blonde."

"Go away, please."

"I bet the penguin did too," whispered she in her ear and then looked at Law, who only returned a calm questioning look by her stare. Her hanging hand pointed languidly at him. "And that guy."

Quinn reddened uncomfortably. "Can you please get back to the others?"

She smiled sassy and got up as she wished. "He didn't even say no," said she and walked backwards away. "Keep Sabo, or I'll take him! I'm very jealous of you!"

"Judy!" Feeling awkward about that conversation and accuse, she moved her attention back to Law, having a hard moment to hold clear eye contact. "I'm sorry, ignore what she has said..."

He had no more to comment than, "say, are you a real blonde?"

Quinn half-lidded her eyes, wondering if he was serious with his question. "Yes."

"Just asking, real blondes are minor. Funny that your guy's one too though."

She pouted her lips and placed her chin on the table while her posture slugged and became weary and formless. "And he's still not back, oh maaaan..."

"Stop worrying."

"I'm sorry that he became important to me, hence I'm automatically worried."

"You should be worried about _her_ ," Law said and pointed with his index finger to her behind.

She turned over her shoulder and saw 'tipsy' Judy pushing her breasts up with both hands in front of drunk Shachi while Penguin blushed and panicked, unsure how he should handle the situation.

"Oh my... memo to myself: never let Judy consume red wine again," Quinn said. Her eyes followed Law as she heard and then saw him got up. "Where are you going?"

"Restroom. See you."

He walked off just all of a sudden and her face changed to confusion, puzzling what was with him. Not that it was unusual for him to flatly appear and leave as he wished, but this time she thought he felt no well. Law had been acting different today; not personality-wise but more of his shown presence. He had been quite clumsy.

She crossed her arms over the table and lay her head down, closing her eyes. Two people she had to worry about, how stressful.

...

Almost ten minutes later, seeing him not returned either, Quinn got up. She walked around the corner, to the calm corridor downstairs where the restrooms were. Standing in the slim hall alone, she leaned her back against the wall, across from the gentleman's room, and stared at her feet while her hands disappeared behind her. She was a little sorry for Penguin that she had left him alone with those two drunks, but from what she observed she could tell he seemed okay, different to Law.

Waiting there for a minute, said guy came out, glaring at her silently with expectation for her to talk. He didn't look happy at all but rather tensed, though it was just minimally shown on his stoic face. Quinn saw it though. "Are you alright...?"

"What do you want?" he said and passed her slowly.

Intimidated by his dry voice, she drifted her eyes slightly away. "I... uhm... you seemed a little off today, so I was worried..."

"Worried?" Law repeated and halted.

Looking back at him insecurely, she nodded. "This isn't you today, so I wondered if anything happened," Quinn said and lifted from the wall, walking up to him. His shirt collar was crooked, made her subconsciously raising her hands to straightened it.

Law's brows narrowed and he caught her wrists, stopping her from touching him. "What are you doing?"

Even though the way he talked seemed calm, it felt like he was threatening her. She looked up at his face that appeared discomforting serious. "I... your collar? It's crooked..." He was glaring at her as if he would pierce with a microscope her mind and inhaled very quietly. Quinn's brows turned to slight fear as she felt his grip around her wrists tightened. To see him not smiling was nothing new, but seeing him in such suspension was. "Trafalgar, you hurt me..."

As he realized his force on her, he slowly loosened around her physique until he let go. "I'm sorry."

"You're not okay," said she as it was obvious, though she couldn't tell his concern. "Can I do something for you...? Wanna head home? Are you feeling sick? Maybe you need a gla-"

"Miss Heady."

Calmly, he stepped forwards and urged her back against the wall, confusing the girl. He became scary, she didn't like how he was acting. "Yeah...?" His brows were narrowed while his eyes seemed to stab her own. Quinn gulped. "Is it because of me...? Did I go too far with my teasing...?"

He leaned closer down to her, one hand supporting him against the wall. "It's just a truce, why are you acting like that to me?"

"L-like what? Should I still treat you like an enemy?" she asked back and blushed as he leaned closer to her. Her body stiffed and she barely looked at him. "Trafalgar, I'm a taken girl..."

"And as a taken girl, I wanna ask you why you're getting so close to other guys."

"Hey! You're the one getti-" Quinn's breath stuck in her throat and her hands began to tremble as his face moved closer to her. She felt his breathing against her lips, made her backing off her head as much as the wall behind her allowed. "B-because we're... we're friends, aren't we?"

Friends.

Her heart skipped a beat as she felt a slight brush of his lips. She slapped him.

Law's face was tilted away from her by the force and she inhaled deeply, staring at him in disbelief. He was carrying a smirk. It wasn't the same of amusement though like she knew from him; it was a smirk of ridicule; he ridiculed himself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Quinn said quietly.

He backed off from the wall, not lifting his face as he ran with his hand through his hair and stopped by his neck. "No, it's fine. _I'm_ sorry."

"Trafalgar..." slowly approached him again and he narrowed his hidden brows, still avoiding her face. "Are you perhaps... drunk?"

Law paused silently to her question.

No, he was not drunk. Not the slightest. But it was the best excuse. "Probably, I'm sorry," he answered calmly and held the bridge of his nose as a sudden headache brew in him. He sighed and looked briefly back up into her embarrassed and discomforted face. Her cheeks were tinted a light pink while she pressed her lips tightly together to a bow downward, glaring at him with furrowed brows. "I think I'll head home now," said he.

She nodded instanstly, seconded it. "Yeah, I think that's a good idea. You seem exhausted."

He shoved his hands in his pockets and left the spot, his gaze drawn with gravity. It was confusion that formed him right then. Confusion about himself. Back at the table, Shachi was already in the stadium of drunk that didn't allow him to walk properly. Law would have preferred to head to his apartment right away, but there was no way round helping the redhead home, since Penguin couldn't support him with his currently fragile rib cage.

Shachi was a pretty laid-back drunk with confessions and shit-talk here and there, but it was definitely more bearable than Judy. He just smiled languid around as if he was high, but didn't say that much to annoy Law memorably.

"I'm sorry that I can't do that," Penguin said with bad conscience.

"It's alright," Law replied.

It was dark and pretty calm outside the bar. No cars were passing nor any breeze, and you could only hear the customers' laughter echoing weakly. There was a cab station nearby, which Law had aimed, but he stopped as he saw Sabo sitting on the pavement, facing the street.

"Oh, Sabo!" Penguin said wondrous. "Why are you still here?"

The blonde young man turned around to them. Law scanned him briefly, seeing that he wasn't calling anyone anymore but just said there and pondered. "You should go back inside, she's worried about you."

He stared at him as if it was surprising. "Worried?"

"You're gone for almost an hour."

His eyes moved down to the watch on his wrist, checking the time himself. "Ah shit, I hadn't planned that." Sabo then got up. "You three leaving?'

Law twitched a brow, rolling his eyes to the drunkard in his arm and back.

Sabo smiled. "I see. Good night then."

As he got back inside, Penguin stared after him while Law continued to move. "I wonder what he did outside."

"Getting some fresh air? Who knows," Law responded, but showed himself rather disinterested about whatever that guy had been doing.

* * *

Back in the small apartment, Law laid Shachi down on his bed. The drunken guy didn't comment much and seemed really happy about his mattress, falling asleep in seconds. Law went to the bathroom and washed his hands, staring into his tired reflection in the mirror in front of him. A little off today? Maybe _she_ had been a little off today...

Penguin appeared at the door. "Ah, it's raining outside, you wanna stay here?"

"No, I'm heading home though," Law said, drying his hands with the towel next to the sink. "Would be nice if you can borrow me an umbrella."

"An umbrella?" Penguin rubbed his neck with a sheepish grin. "We don't have one, I broke our only one last time at the fight with the neighbor thug..."

Law walked out, passing him. "It's alright then. I also can without."

"Ah wait!" Getting to the closet, Penguin pulled out another umbrella. "You can have Quinn's."

The blue dotted transparent item, he hadn't seen it in a while. Skeptically, Law raised a brow and looked at his companion, questioning why it was still in their possession.

"Every time she's here, she forgets it, and we forget to return it to her," he answered. "Maybe you can do next time."

Law took the umbrella, eyeing it. "The last time _you_ insisted to return it to her."

"The last time she was just a chick," Penguin responded with a small laugh.

Since he was tired and the clock striking late hours, Law didn't discuss about it much nor stayed long for a chitchat in general and left soon, protecting himself from the rain with the item. He remembered when he had borrowed it the first time, that morning had been much colder. They barely had known each other back then; like Penguin had said, she had been just a chick. And still, it felt nostalgic to think back to those days when everything between them seemed so innocent and impersonal.

Law got inside the empty bus and sat in the last row. His face mirrored in the darkness soaking window and he locked eyes with himself.

Innocent and impersonal. She had been amusing from the day he had met her again, and honestly had it been just her looks that had drawn him into a conversation with her. Law had thought he could bed her as well, despite the rule that he was not allowed to. It had been just a little mind play to see how far he could bring her to submit to him, but things had turned different from what he had expected.

She rather had started to despise him, so much that she dumped her manners. And it weirdly had affected him to see her contempt.

A small and amused smile formed his lips.

And now they ended together many evenings in a bar, talking to each other to a point when she considered him a friend. Her personal problems had made her so human to him, she was indeed more than a blonde chick, and it was wondrous that she shared her intimate thoughts with him. To imagine that she would have done so before was impossible; then when their relationship was still shallow; when she grunted her teeth by his presence; when Sabo hadn't happened.

Law balled his fist slightly and flexed his finger to loose his tension.

He was a good-guy, he was what she was always dreaming of, and Law hated how he felt about it.

Was that the result of having a 'crush' (he disliked that word)? To be plagued with puzzling and extremely trivial thoughts? His status quo according to his, well, observation and logical conclusion was... god he hated it, but... the feel of asking for someone's attention when someone else got it, yes he hated it; jealousy.

He shouldn't care about it, he had never cared about anyone's feeling towards him. Boyfriend... hell, this was too silly for him, the term itself, everything involved to it.

Because he had felt jealous, he wondered if he had attracted bad energy that made his appearance today so out of character. How came that so many bad things had happened to him today? Why on this specific day?

And that he had tried to kiss her... Law had lost his control in that very moment; her care, her closeness, her lips, it had been just tempting.

The more he thought about the evening, the more his chest tightened, made him wanna rolling his eyes several times.

Annoyance was his majored emotion since her.

Was it his fault that he ended like that? He shouldn't have started that affair with her roommate, he should have left every time that blonde had been approaching him. But because he had accepted it, he dug himself into it. He couldn't allow himself to get any deeper. He had peered into the abyss and the abyss had looked back, extending its arm to pull him in.

She wasn't just a number, a patient; and she neither was an object, a potential fuck toy. She was not just 'that blonde'. But they weren't friends either. He was not like Shachi or Penguin, whatever she was saying.

Law's eyes shot open as he saw the bus had stopped at his station already. As the door was about to close, he jumped up and hurried outside. His feet stopped as soon as they hit the ground again and Law turned with gritted teeth around, seeing that the umbrella still stuck between the doors. He pulled annoyed and shouted to the front at the bus driver to open the door again. As nothing happened, he ripped the umbrella out with force and the bus drove off, left him standing in the rain.

 _Fuck it!_ Law cursed in his head as he glanced on the item. It was completely bent, he had broken it to uselessness.

His eyes darted to the back of the bus that became smaller and smaller in its coat of magazine advertisements. Bearing the heavy rain pouring on him, he squatted while the broken item was still in his grip, hanging from his hand like his head from his neck. The rain soaked into his clothes just as the wine had in hers. The water dripped down his nose tip just as when the waitress had splashed the drink into his face. The umbrella damaged by his inaptitude just as the brunette's eye. He looked pitiful right then. He looked weak just like when he had lost to that guy. He felt miserable just like when he had deserved that slap. Law pinched the bridge of his nose and looked back up, showing the vehicle his middle finger.

Everything that could go wrong today, had gone wrong.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Just for my curiosity: how do you imagine Law/Quinn lemon :D? _

_Thanks for previous reviews and reads! Love them._

 _Ps.: I'm happy to hear you're interested in my first account, but it's kinda on hiatus now, thus I won't share it with you now (I don't know when I'll finish those stories). Anyway, I can tell that I read some familiar names here though :D thank you._


	33. Conclusion of a peace treaty

**33\. Conclusion of a peace treaty**

"Peace treaty?"

"Yap."

"You two are funny," Sabo said, walking next to her in the supermarket. "You seem like good friends to me before."

"Oh, really?" Quinn rummaged through the sweet shelves, holding a shopping basket in her hand. "I thought we're beefing too much." She looked at a yellow price tag, framed underneath a selection of cookies, which she took and placed into the basket.

"I thought you're good friends regarding the way you interact, otherwise you would've been kinda mean and impolite," he said in small-talk manner.

Quinn pulled her mouth corners deep down and turned to Sabo, brows to uncertainty as he stated it so casual. "Mean and impolite?"

"Yeah, you picked on him and kinda ignored him somewhat," he told, smiling nonchalantly while he grabbed the cookie bag she just had chosen, to eye it a bit, relaxed in his attitude.

She, on the other hand, found there was nothing to smile. "Well... I dunno, I thought we're pretty much on friendly terms, but maybe he doesn't like me as a friend as I do..." She looked down to the floor and pouted her lips a little, breathing a sigh of cluelessness. "He was in such a bad mood, I somehow start to think he's just tolerating me."

"Hmm, he didn't seem like that; you just worry for nothing."

"He normally acts different! Way wittier! H-he's, well, okay, sometimes he _is_ like he was, but-but, normally _he's_ the one to mock me, and-and he's super immune against whatever I say! ...Maybe I reached his limit last time. I'm sorry, it was the wrong day to meet him..."

Sabo chuckled. "As I said, I think you worry for nothing. It rather looks like he doesn't like _me_."

She tilted her head closer to her shoulder. "Huh? How come?"

"I don't know, just intuition."

Quinn laughed slightly. "Nah, I don't think so. He's just a little hard to reach and regards people with his flat expression, so it looks like he doesn't."

Sabo pointed to the filled basket in her hands. "Should I?"

She shook her head with a smile. "It's not heavy, but thanks." Hopping then next to him, she clung onto his arm, the side of her head pressed to his shoulder as she looked up at him. "How can someone not like you?"

"Well, I guess there are a few," he responded, snickering lightly.

"Meh, and if," Quinn said, "who cares." She lifted her body on her toes and kissed him on the cheek with a loud and lively 'mwah!'.

Well, he at least didn't care. "Ah, this is your fourth today," said he with a small laugh, somewhat shy about it. Once she had redressed her nervosity expressing her affection, she did those any given time.

"And I have many more in my repertory!" Quinn backtracked and continued her way through the corridors, her teeth showing brightly between her stretched lips.

Sabo touched his cheek and rubbed the spot softly with a tender smile, looking after the girl. "You're such a marshmallow..." he mumbled and sighed, following her quietly then.

It was a hot May-day; they squinted their eyes instantly as the sun dazzled their sight the moment they walked out of the building.

"Yo, Marshmallow, wait for me," Sabo called after her as she ran ahead in front of him, making a full spin in the sun.

Quinn enjoyed the warm weather, knowing that summer was just around the corner. She turned on her heel, shouting back, "ya too slow! The Onigiris will be sold out again! Go go go go!"

He mumbled, "man, are all women imperious?" and end it with another harmless sigh, speeding up.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him with him in goose step, always a part in lead. "The weather's so nice, I wish we all could go picnicking, but everyone's working so late."

"Yeah, I think I got my biggest free time when I'm here in town," Sabo replied.

Glancing up at him, she stopped and confronted him with another big smile. Almost 24/7 she was smiling at him, he was surprised what impact he had on her. "Sabooo, by the way, did you call me... Marshmallow?"

"Hm? Yeah, I did."

Her eyes drifted to the side and she bit her tongue with a broad grin, blushing a little. "I love marshmallows..."

"You don't say." Sabo patted her head and continued to walk. "Let's go, Marshmallow."

As he passed her, Quinn shrunk and was squatting on the ground, burying her face in her knees. Her heart pounded while her cheeks tinted a lovely pink. _Don't squeal. Don't squeal. Don't squeal. You are not 16 anymore! You're a grown woman, treat it casual!_

"You wanna root there?"

Quinn jumped up and rushed through the meters he stood away, to him. "I'm sorry, I thought this was a nice place to root."

"Well, if you want you can continue; I'm gonna water you once a day then."

"Quinn-trees need more water than once a day, didn't you look that up?" she responded with mock-disappointment about his small knowledge.

"Oh, that's too much," he said and walked off with a hand wave. "I renounce then."

"Heeeey!" Quinn followed him. "You can't just give up on a Quinn-tree; they grow marshmallows in multiple colors!"

"Nah."

"But-but-but... marshmallow... tree... multiple colors... meh."

He laughed and kept his pace when she paddled behind him with pouted lip. While she gazed rather to ground, Sabo looked at her over his shoulder. His eyes watched her playful huff expression intently, and he wondered how much this girl actually liked him and why. She was funny and cute, he wouldn't take that back but enjoyed having her around; though, he would like to know why someone would like him in any romantic way. He had never been the romantic himself, people who knew him long enough wouldn't picture him in a relationship...

"Why are you staring like that?"

Pulled out of his thoughts all of a sudden, Sabo blinked in question as it were only gibberish sounds he heard from her. "Huh?"

"You're staring at me so out spaced," Quinn said.

"Ah, I was just in thoughts," he replied, smiling. "Sorry."

"Hm..." Quinn focused him sharply. "Have I done anything weird or wrong?"

"When are you _not_ weird?" he joked. "But wrong? Not that I'd know, don't worry."

She accelerated her tempo a bit and clung back onto his arm. "Say, do you have any friends in this town?" With raised brows, he showed surprise about this question to what Quinn shrugged her shoulders, saying, "well, I dunno, you never talk about any friend, so I'm just wondering. Maybe from school or so."

"Ah..." Sabo laughed slightly about her question. "Well, you know, I never went to public school before. I was educated at home, but since I always ran away from home, my... parents (it was just so wrong to call them as such) never bothered to care for me, so I stayed for awhile uneducated and only knew Ace's family."

"Whaaat? Does it mean you have no school degree?" Quinn asked confused.

"I do have," he said. "I did self-education while I started work within the revolutionaries when I was younger. Attended external exams later and so on, but if you wonder about college; I never attended one."

"I see... So that means, your life will be devoted to the Revolutionaries? I mean, it's practically your full-time job."

He nodded. "Right." Sabo saw how her face sank a bit while her enthusiastic mood fell back a little. "Quinn," said he, suddenly somewhat more serious, making her looking back at him insecurely. He stopped and turned to her. "You know that I won't be always here, probably just a year and then I have to leave for an indefinite time."

"I know... but can't you at least guess how long?"

"No, it can be only a month, or three, half a year, or longer," he told. "I don't know."

She furrowed her brows and her face changed to more determination. "I will wait for you."

Waiting for him... He appreciated it; she was someone reliable, sincere and open with her feelings. It was confusing to know how someone could grow feelings for him over the time by spending some - or much - with him. To an extent that grew beyond friendship. But it was the same with him; why had _he_ asked her out? Why this girl? He felt like going through a phase of self-discovery again, just like he had gone years ago to define his morals, values, and beliefs.

"Sabo?" Quinn voice entered his mind slowly. "Hello? Are you there?"

Perplexed from his absence, he glared at her quietly.

"Aren't you feeling well?" she asked, worried.

Sabo made one step closer and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly, got her blushing as it took her by surprise, but didn't keep her from hugging back. "Quinn, can I ask you something?"

"S-sure?"

He hoped the question didn't come off strange, but asking her directly was better than asking himself, who could only guess the answer. "Why do you like me?"

Quinn's heart paused for a second, and her hands tightened to his shirt. "Why...?"

"I just wanna know."

She bit her lower lip and sucked it anxiously, pressing her face against him. "Only curiosity?"

"Only curiosity."

"Because I like you as a person..." she said and smiled a little while her head snugged onto him. "You're lovely, kind, cute, ...not a pervert-"

"What?" Looking down at her, he tried to hold a laugh as the latter reason came unexpected.

Quinn backed a little off and stared at him like her standard-knowledge about the male gender was a matter of course. "Yeah, all men at least _I've_ met so far are perverts."

"What about your friends?"

Her eyes drifted to the side and she gritted awkwardly her teeth. "Yeah... well... they too..." She was still in a slow acceptance of the information Judy had told her about Shachi, and she didn't want to start thinking about Law's lifestyle at all.

"Can I kiss you?"

Her cheeks turned red again by his sudden question, and she stared back at him with tightened lips, appearing quite in disbelief. As they stood in silence, Sabo cupped his hands around her face and touched with his forehead hers. "You have to give me permission instead of freezing like that."

Still speechless, Quinn nodded frantically.

"Quinn, if you don't wa-"

"I want!" she cut him. "Y-you can kiss me anytime! Where and whenever you feel to! I mean, you-you can even surprise me! I-I mean, no, don't think those are expectations now...! You don't even have to kiss me if you don't want! No one's forcing you! I mean, I would love to receive one! B-but as I said, don't stress yourself! None's okay too! I ju-"

He caught her lips, interrupting her endless babble which she returned without a second thought. His kisses were as always, soft and tender, it made her didn't want to break their contact any second. Maybe it wasn't like cotton candy, but it had its own unique sweetness that she wished not to e-

Sabo stopped as his phone suddenly filled the silence of their intimacy, their lips parting slowly. They remained quiet and let that silly ringtone play until he started to giggle that she then joined.

"I'm sorry," Sabo said and made a step back, pulling out his phone. 'Home' was written on the display. "Hm, Dadan?"

"Maybe she needs your help?" Quinn said.

"Hello?" he answered it calmly but squinted an eye right away as someone on the other line shouted at him. So loud that even Quinn heard it without the speakers on. "Luffy, is it you?"

 _"Uhhh, is uhh, Sabo there?!"_

"Yes, who's there?" he asked back as it was not his brother's voice.

 _"Sabo?! We need your help!"_

Quinn narrowed her eyes as she heard the desperate tone of a child and leaned her ear closer to his cellphone as well.

 _"I made something really stupid, please don't kill me! I have a big brother too, h-he's ten times stronger and older than you...!"_

She looked at the confused guy and decided to reach for the phone, nodding at him to ask if he could hand her it. As he had done as she requested, Quinn overtook the call, hearing the panic of the boy on the other side of the line, which voice she somewhat recognized. "Usopp, here's Miss Heady, it's you, right?"

 _"Nooo, please don't ki- ahh! Miss Heady?! Hello?! Hello?!"_

"Usopp, no one's gonna kill you, calm down," said she and heard how he slowly turned down his panic. Receiving only silence then, she turned the speakers on for Sabo to listen as well. "And now, tell us without hectic what happened."

 _"After school I went with Luffy home and there were those three strong guys, picking a fight with us. I could defend myself, but my conviction turned me blind for a moment. So, when I looked at him, myself without a scratch, Luffy laid there and cried in pain. I think they got him. We're alone at the moment."_

Quinn half-lidded her eyes with a wry smile and looked over to Sabo, whispering, "it wasn't me that taught him to lie."

 _"Sooo, you need to come fast, I think those guys-"_

 _"What are you talking?! You pushed me from the tree house!"_

 _"Uhhh, I think they damaged his head. Don't believe him."_

Luffy's voice became louder then as he rushed over to the phone, _"Sabooo! I'm alright but I think I broke my arm! I can't really move it!_ "

"Are you crying?" he asked the little boy teasingly.

 _"I'm not crying!"_ he whimpered and sobbed through the mic.

Sabo grinned. "I thought you're a big boy, don't make me tell Ace."

 _"I am a big boy!"_

Quinn pulled the phone farther from him, giving him a displeased look. "Hey, why do you tease a child like that when he probably broke his arm?"

"Huh? I don't want him to become a crybaby for every ouchie," he responded, "he's crying a lot, sometimes even when he doesn't have to, so you know, showing him too much-."

"He probably _broke_ his _arm!_ " Quinn scolded, moving her face closer to him, startling him.

"Bu-"

Quinn turned away with the phone, ignoring his excuse while she had turned off the speakers. "Men and their weird child-rearing."

After she had hung up, Quinn called the ambulance and sent them straight to the hospital while they took a taxi and rushed together there themselves. Even if it wasn't any fracture, a fall from that tree house in their yard was definitely not small, so it would be better to do a checkup in the hospital for any concussion of the brain or other damage.

* * *

In the office, Law rested on his chair, having his legs up on the desk while he held a little nap during his break, which just had started. Now and then he heard some murmur from his colleagues about how mannerless he was to raise his gears up to the desk, acting like he was at home. Two things; it was just a desk, and regarding how often he was at work, more than in his own apartment, it pretty much became his unwanted home. The last few weeks were comfortably calm though and his work hours more regular. Maybe it was because of his constant presence that he could decline extra hours and shifts easily those days without much ballyhoo.

Right then, he felt quite tired even though he had for his standard enough sleep last night. His throat was a bit sore, but not much that it would bother him. Must have been a little cold he caught.

"Trafalgar?"

He peered through one eye up at his coworker, Dr. Dillan standing right next to him. After the funeral of her husband, she had taken some days off to rest her mind about the whole thing that impacted her family; but Law was glad to see that she slowly got back to normal, annoying him as usual in his breaks.

"Quinn has a boyfriend?"

Okay, too annoying. Quietly he stared at her, repeating her words in his head. Quinn has a boyfriend. Yes, yes she had, why was that topic now? "What do you need?"

She leaned against the table, looking down at the laid-back guy. "Do you know him? Sabo?"

"Yeah, I've met him two days ago."

"Ah, I see..." she responded quietly as if she needed to digest his answer.

"Why?" Law asked, showing no more but his cold expression.

"Uhm," she hummed, looking swiftly aside. "I was just curious to see how much of friends you became to know about her private life." He closed his eyes again, keeping silence so that Dr. Dillan eyed his disinterest more thoroughly, feeling unsatisfied about the end of the discussion. "Hm... I know Sabo as my patient, but how do you find him?"

Still in his relaxed pose, eyes closed, he replied rather rejecting towards the topic. "I don't know and I don't care."

Dr. Dillan tightened her lips, looking somewhat grimly at the guy. Calmly she got up and straightened her blouse. "He's a sweet guy. Suits her."

She said it in such a huff, dipped in pride, as if... she had a second thought. Opening his eyes annoyed, Law added, "yeah. A good girl should go out with a good guy. Period."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

Law rolled his eyes. "You wanna tell me anything else?"

Putting her hands in the pockets of her coat, Dr. Dillan cocked her head, staring to the front. "No, nothing. I just bumped into them a few minutes ago here in the building." She caught with a swift side-glance his brows narrowed, walking off to the door then. "Outside in the waiting halls, just saying."

* * *

"Oh, Trafalgar," Quinn said as she turned on the bench, seeing Law from afar getting closer. Sabo and her were waiting with the two kids in the halls of the hospital while Luffy's pain echoed as he failed in holding his cry.

Sighting the doctor as well, looking deadly serious down at the bunch, Usopp flinched and hid behind Quinn. "Who's this creep?"

"Why are you here?" Law asked, scanning the situation swiftly before his eyes moved back to the girl.

"Luffy fell from the tree house and we guess his arm's broken," Quinn answered, placing her hand on the injured boy's head. "We're waiting here for quite a while now, he can't stop crying from the pain."

The black-haired boy, with the ice pack on his swollen limb, pulled up his snot and gritted his teeth. "I'm not crying!"

"It's okay to cry about it," she said and stroke his hair. "Ignore stupid Sabo."

"Hey...! I didn't mean so-"

"You teased him about it!"

"How high was the tree house?" Law asked.

Exchanging looks with Quinn swiftly, Sabo tried to guess. "Hm...at least over three meters?"

"And how did he fall? Can he move his arm?"

They looked at Luffy and he shrugged his shoulders. "But it hurts when I move it!"

"His swelling doesn't decrease at all," Quinn added.

"Has he other complaints too since the fall?"

Luffy shook his head quietly, staring at the doctor with his snot.

"Wait here." Law headed away, nonchalant with his hands in his white gown. Quinn rarely saw him wearing that since he was most of the time in his green sanitary clothes; but every time he did, it reminded her of the time they hadn't been friendly with each other. Though Law hadn't considered her as 'friend' yet, she was sure they were. Somehow...

It took him a few minutes until he came back, wearing the same cold expression that rather scared people away. Seeing him was not inviting for liking hospitals but gave a great example for scary doctors. She couldn't deny he looked good though in button-up shirts and the white coat, so much that she even felt guilty for finding other men physically attractive too than only her boyfriend; hell, was that even appropriate for a doctor to show that much of tattoo? (To show them in general?!)

"He can go with me," Law told them.

Different to his dry vocal, Quinn alighted positive vibes as she heard that, her eyes sparkling big. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah."

She smiled and looked at her student. "Go with Dr. Trafalgar, Luffy."

"Alone?" he asked.

"The X-Ray room's not big, I prefer that only one go with him," Law said.

Quinn moved her face to Sabo, questioning him wordless if he wanted to accompany his brother, to what the guy responded, "you go."

"Sure?" she asked.

He smiled casually. "You better with him."

"Oh, I'm better with your little brother?" Quinn replied amused and got up, taking Luffy's hand and didn't quest his decision any further. Law only looked over his shoulder to make sure they were going to follow him before he headed quietly to the said room. Better with him... It was the smarter choice to go instead of Sabo since it must be awkward for him to hang around Law without her by their side as his intuition of his dislike would discomfort.

Hand in hand with Luffy, who was whining about pain to hunger, she was staring at Law's back while they were walking through the corridors. Beside the little boy, they moved in silence, supporting Quinn's believe that she bothered him. "How are you, Doc?" she said, trying to break the ice.

"I'm fine, thanks."

As he hadn't even turned or given her a look with his flat answer, she narrowed her brows a little, biting her tongue. "Hm... aren't you busy?"

"It's my break. The X-Ray room was free."

"Huuh? You work in your break?" It couldn't be that bad, why would he make the effort to sacrifice his free time if she was _that_ annoying to him.

Finally, he stopped as they reached the door of their targetted room, and he turned his head to her. "You want him to wait longer? I'm okay with that too."

"Ah, no-no..." Quinn replied, her eyes soon drifted to ground as they expressed somewhat of shyness and gratitude. "Thank you..."

They got inside, the room that was just in size as the young doctor had said; not really big, but even tight in the gaps between wall and the actual X-Ray machine. A wall parted the long place in two so that the patient would stay behind it. In spite that Quinn only knew small X-Ray rooms from several physicians, she was certain that the hospital also got bigger ones for worse cases where the patients weren't able to move. She eyed the environment thoroughly, thinking how fascinating _and_ scary X-Rays actually were.

"Lay your arm here," Law said to Luffy, regaining her attention.

The preparation was simple in construction; the boy only needed to lay his arm down while above him hoovered the device, nothing scary looking at all. He hesitated though and watched the spot skeptically.

From behind, Quinn leaned a little down to him with both hands on his upper arms. "You don't have to be scared, it won't hurt." She wasn't sure if he was even just scared or grumpy for nothing because he didn't want anyone to tell him what to do.

Law wasn't there for the kids' stuff and made it quick and simple. "If you don't want to, you can go."

Still with grumpy expression, mainly because the guy was not the nicest, Luffy looked up at Quinn. "Miss Heady... I don't want this, I'm hungry."

"Ah Doc, you can't talk to a child like that," she said.

He raised a brow. "Like what?"

She moved closer to the machine and swang her hand a few times underneath the hovering device from left to right, telling Luffy, "look, this machine's there to see through your skin into your bones, seeing the fractures. You know those superheroes with X-Ray look? It's the same and you won't notice a bit of it. Put it up, okay?"

He looked at her and through the defense, he showed defeat and put his aching forearm carefully with her help up. Quinn smiled satisfied and turned to Law. "When you don't make the child understand but rather frighten him, you may make him never connecting something good with doctors."

"Like you?" he replied and walked over to the computer.

Quinn followed him while her eyes swiped to the side with a wry smile. "Like me..."

Law supported his weight with one hand on the desk while his other operated the mouse. Slowly, the young woman stepped closer to him, looking over his shoulder to check his doing before her eyes shifted up to his face. Not that his calm look was anything new, but he was, to her, _uncomfortable_ quiet. Maybe it was just him working, calm and concentrated since she mostly knew him outside of work.

As she eyed him longer than wanted, he gazed down to her from the corner of his eyes, and she flinched. "I'm sorry..."

"Miss Heady, y-"

"I'm hungry Miss Heady, this takes so long!" Luffy whined through the room, sinking his head next to his arm.

Law looked at her and she grinned in apology. "Yeah, he has a big appetite..."

"He shouldn't keep his head there."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She rushed over to the boy, telling him to straightened again, what he did in huff, and then returned to the doctor. "I'm sorry, he's a little... special."

"Tell him to turn his arm to 90°."

Quinn turned on her heel to get back to the boy. "O-" She stopped and looked with both hands on her hips to Law again, smiling. "You know what? You do."

He narrowed his brows slightly. "What?"

"Well, it's your job, not mine."

Unimpressed, he looked at her for a moment but didn't make a scene of it, passing her then with a hearable sigh, almost provocative. He walked back to the boy behind the wall, telling him simply, "turn your arm to the side."

Luffy looked up at the guy as the latter and Quinn came back. "Why?"

"Because I say it."

Half-lidding his eyes, Luffy responded, "this is stupid and no reason."

His response came surprisingly and was not in Law's like, made him narrowing his brows slightly in annoyance already.

As he gave Quinn a quiet 'see?-you-could-just-tell-him' look, she smiled a little and said, "make him understand."

"Geez..." he grumbled and drew back to the boy. "Turn your arm, so that I can take a lateral X-Ray."

"Why?"

"Because I say it," Law said while he tried to maintain a calm tone, annoyed about his repeated questioning.

Luffy sank his head back down, staring tired and annoyed himself away. "Meh, I'm hungry."

"I thought your arm hu-!"

Quinn interrupted the exasperated doctor as she lay her hand on his, shaking her head with an amused, but soft smile. "Be nice. Don't talk so dry. Give him a sense in taking a lateral X-Ray. People are less scared of things they understand."

His eyes drifted swiftly down to their hands and back, irritating him. "I'm not here to spoil children," he said and pulled his hand away, blushing uncomfortably to ground, "either he does what I say, or leaves."

"You're not spoiling them," Quinn explained. "Elementary school age's the most influential stage of children; from here their personality starts forming sightably and you as an adult are part of their development."

"I usually got nurses for that," he said.

"Do you always examine children like that?"

"I usually don't examine children."

She glared at him in thoughts. "I see..."

Avoiding her face again, he turned his back to her. "He should move his arm now."

"Then tell him."

"Can't you just do? It's faster that way," Law requested, kneading his neck a little with one arm as his gaze barely tilted to her.

Quinn eyed his distancing demeanor, digesting the moment for a few seconds before she snickered a bit and passed him. "Alright. I'll do," she said and looked up at the guy as she stood a step in front of him, smiling. " _This_ time."

He watched how she talked to his young patient, making him doing as he had said. She was so much different when the guy she liked wasn't around; less stupid, more how he had gotten to know her. A little bubbly, a little caring, more responsibly.

After Law had made the X-Rays of Luffy's arm, a nurse sent the boy, her and the rest of bunch, which had been waiting outside, into an examination room, stabilized the injured arm and providing its owner with painkillers as he was lying down. They were waiting for Law to get status quo while enduring Luffy's endless request for something to eat. It took half an hour until the young man came back into the room, interrupting the family-friendly atmosphere.

"He has some close fractures in his forearm. We'll keep him here for one night. The operation will be at 10 AM, I assume you can pick him up around 12."

"Will you do it?" Quinn asked.

"No, another department will be responsible for it."

Sabo, who was sitting on the stretcher with Luffy, looked at the boy. "Well buddy, looks like you stay here."

"And what about food?" he wanted to know.

"The hospital will give you some," his brother replied, looking at Law then, "right?"

"Yeah."

Luffy stared into the round. "Are you leaving now?"

"I can stay if you want," Sabo said.

"Don't you have stuff to do?" Quinn asked.

"Do I?"

"You've said so before."

"So I'm alone here?" Luffy asked, not happy about the fact and shot his friend his gaze. "What about Usopp?!"

The other boy lifted his arm in excuse. "Sorry Luffy, but my mum doesn't allow me to stay away too long."

"Nah, I can do my work here too. I'm just gonna pick those up from home," Sabo said. "It's just the boring part you can do everywhere."

Quinn got up and took her student's hand. "I'm taking Usopp home then." She looked over to Law. "Thank you for taking the time."

Wordless, he returned a small nod before he walked out of the room, leaving them alone. Only a short time after, Sabo, Quinn, and Usopp left as well, making their way to the entrance hall.

Even after, Quinn couldn't stop her surprise for Law's volunteering during his break. She knew he wasn't that bad as he seemed at the first glance, actually nicer than one could believe, but he was the type to even decline taking holidays to help out his friend, who was, though not by blood, like family. Well, maybe he was just bored and needed something to do.

Half on the way, Quinn stopped and looked at Sabo. "Ah, can you wait with Usopp here? I forgot something."

"Sure," he said, not questioning anything, but showing wonder though as she rushed back to where they came from.

There was the thing she had forgotten to ask Law, and being already in the hospital, she would better catch up with him then. Since it was within his break (though it must be already over now), Quinn guessed he would've returned to the staff room or so. She remembered the way and followed her memories, hoping to find him there.

"Peanut," his voice saying somewhere behind her, made her turning around to sight him walking towards her. "Forgot something?"

"Yes! I forgot to ask," she said, "when are you finish with work today?"

He raised a brow over his lazy eyes. "I don't know. Why?"

"Uhm, I have to give you something and I thought after work would be best, so I'd come over."

"Give me something?" he repeated. "And what is that something?"

"I can't tell you now," she said, placing her index finger in front of her lips, "just tell me when your shift's over."

"Too late," he answered. "Then when you shouldn't be outside alone."

"Woah, don't tell me you work to 3 am or so!" she said, somewhat shocked.

"No, just around ten," he answered, sighing that he, in the end, _had_ told her when his shift would be over.

"Eh? Ten? I'm not a little girl."

"I said, _too late for you to be outside alone_ ," he repeated and continued to walk.

Quinn followed him, stumbling backward along as she tried to hold eye contact. "But-but I wanna give you that today!"

"What is it? Another confetti bomb?"

Hearing that, her eyes grew big. "Oh my god, don't tell me it really exploded?!"

Law paused his legs and looked into her sparkling face. "Yes. My whole trunk was a mess."

"Oh my god, oh my god! I thought this was a dud shot because you haven't said something! If I had known they work, I would've bought another one, but I thought this is just bad production, so I didn't! Woah, was it big?! I mean, you said your whole trunk was a mess, so probably... but, hey, when did it happen?! Was that much confetti? What colors were they? Was it loud? Wa-"

"Maybe I'll drop at your place."

She looked at him blankly. "Huh?"

"If you wanna give me, whatever it is, so badly, maybe I'll drop at your place after work."

"Yeees?"

"Let's see."

"I would be happy if you do!" she said in joy, what confused him. Quinn didn't stay long on spot and waved at him, hurrying away. "Anyway, see you!"

"See you maybe!" Law corrected her as he looked after her smaller-getting appearance, mumbling then, "this woman..."

* * *

It was late after ten as Law stood in front of the building of the women apartment he ended up so often. He had said 'maybe' that he would come, but his hesitation only consisted of his insecurity to see her out of her wish, not even his exhaustion halted him to go. Quietly, he stepped closer and rang the bell where 'Volkova/Heady' was written. He wasn't sure why he felt a slight brush of his nervosity since he knew Quinn for quite a while now; geez, they just had seen each other today.

Getting inside as they allowed him entry, he went upstairs and saw the blonde head answering the door through a small gap before she widened it when she could make sure it was him. "Ohh, you really came!"

"I told you 'maybe'," he replied, stepping with disinterested attitude inside as she stepped to the side, hands shoved in his pockets, face ahead.

"Right, right. Judy isn't home yet," she told. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Just get me what you want to."

"There he goes, mean Trafalgar," she singsang and walked to her room. "Follow me Dr. Badittude."

Not caring about the name, he did idly, expecting nothing. She was full of surprises anyway, he had no power to calculate what it could be this time.

Quinn dropped herself on her bed and faced the door as he halted at the doorway. On her lap, she held a small basket with an accumulation of random items, resembling one of those apology baskets she had made for him before.

"What's that?" asked he and she patted the mattress on the spot to her side. Law moved and sat down next to the girl, and she laid the basket on his lap right away. Besides the random content, there was a piece of paper rolled and tied with a ribbon.

"You have to read this first," Quinn told him and he looked at her, seeing her silent await for him to do.

And so Law found himself slightly curious about it and took the DIN A4 paper, loosened it from the ribbon, then rolling it up to read.

 _ **TREATY OF PEACE**_

 _22nd May xxxx_

 _This protocol annexed thereto, the agreement between_

 _QUINN HEADY_

 _and_

 _DR. LAW TRAFALGAR_

 _to put down their guns and respect each other's existence. Annoying behavior of any kind such as mocking and teasing are prohibited. Jokes are to keep for themselves if not asked or in the mood._

A peace contract... literally. His eyes shifted back to her and she smiled in anticipation, now awaiting his response. "You went and actually wrote this?"

She nodded with a grin. "It looks cool, doesn't it? You just have to sign it."

Glancing back at the basket, he lifted it slightly by its handle. "And what's that?"

"This is my peace gift," she explained and a brow perked above his puzzling eyes. She pointed at it and said, "the content is, hehe, eleven bucks worth."

Eyeing said eleven bucks more closely, Law noticed a little Playmobil figure and grabbed it between his fingers. It was a female, holding a book on one side and a stick on the other. "What the hell is this?"

Quinn giggled before she could really comment that. "Oh, I had some small money left and that was the only thing I could afford to actually come up to eleven. Okay 11,05 but anyway. I wanted to find something suiting your profession like a doctor, a nurse or a patient, but I only found this you could somehow relate to. It's a teacher!"

"So..." His gaze shifted to her from the side. "It's you?"

She blushed a little by the unexpected figure and seemed rather in defense. "N-no! Yes! No. Okay maybe. Yes. Yeah, somehow..." Awkward feeling, she pushed her index fingers together and looked down. "This was the only thing in sale you could relate to; others were nuns, firefighters, cooks, I dunno... and since I'm a teacher and _I_ made you this... please don't get me wro- why are you laughing again?" She half-lidded her eyes, unamused about his little giggle.

"Peanut... You're," he smiled somewhat at her, "funny."

She gritted her teeth a bit, lowering her mouth corners. "I don't like when people call me funny... This never means something good."

Law put the toy back and couldn't stop carrying an amused smirk. "How come you made this now?"

She held her neck, drawing her face down. "Well... I dunno..."

"And no more teasing?"

"I-I, uhm..., last time you seemed so extremely bad mooded, and-and... I wasn't sure why first, but the last two days I reflected about it and figure that it must have been me. I mean, I think you're annoying too, but maybe I was _too_ annoying, and I, uhm..." Her cheeks returned to color, this time a little stronger than before and she peered swiftly at him before her gaze sank in her embarrassment. "I don't want you to hate me, so... I don't wanna annoy you anymore and be the cause for you bad mood..."

'I don't want you to hate me'. Law repeated those words in his head, over and over again while his eyes didn't leave her, her own shifting occasionally up to him, but trying to avoid long eye contact.

"It's just... I'm sorry, I thought you're made of steel, because you always have a counter attack, and I actually, well, I dunno... I actually enjo- Hey," she looked embarrassed at him, "don't make a big fuzz out of it... no one likes to be hated..."

Yes, she was extremely annoying sometimes; she was sort of stupid ever since she had a crush on that guy; but every time she annoyed the crap out of him, she came back to apologize. It was just like the day before he had found himself in this bedroom the very first time. When she had insisted him to stay and treated his wounds.

He smirked and glanced back inside the basket, seeing two Onigiris. The caption read tuna and vegetables, reminding him how she had been thoughtful enough not to give him those disgusting pickle plums even back then.

Quinn looked at them as well. "Uhh I bought those since you didn't like mine, ...and they were on sale."

"I didn't say I don't like them," Law said.

"But you were complaining..."

"Criticism, not complaints."

Receiving a correction of him as so often, she stared at the guy and tried to come up with a counter, but eventually had to accept her defeat. "...Okay."

"Are you always doing those?"

"Those what?"

"Baskets."

"Yeah!" she said. "My father used to made those for my mother and me whenever he felt like he did something wrong."

"I see." She always talked so little about her family for someone that loved to talk. It was nice to know that she shared pieces of her private life, no matter how tiny they were. Wasn't that a sign of trust as she didn't seem to be someone throwing with private information about herself around.

Quinn pulled out a little chocolate bar, holding it up and looked at him. "He always put so many sweets in, I ended up looking like a ball."

"Like a ball?"

"Yeah, used to be a fat child."

Law raised a brow, part amused, part surprised. "You did?"

"But I think fat children are adorable! I mean, nooo, not fat children, this sounds so morbid... I mean, you know, not uhh skinny children, I mean no, all children are adorable...!"

"Did you just call your child-self adorable?"

"What? Nooo...!" Quinn shook her head. "I-I didn't mean that...!"

Returning to rummage through the basket, he pulled out something that caught his eyes rather in confusion. The content was almost like filled with stuff that _she_ liked. "Miss Heady, what should I do with _stickers_?"

"Weeeeell, those are cute polar-themed stickers," she said, smiling, and leaned a little closer to him, pointing on a few particular on the sheet. "Look, there are also penguins and orcas. And here are polar bears! I dunno, I think you like polar bears the best? I, for my part, like any kind, they all have something cute, but I think brown bears are my- oh no! Maybe pandas... Ah, they're all cute. Whatever, so-"

"You forgot to write down 'endless babbling'."

She smiled wryly, poking her cheek. "This... I can't promise."

Then he lifted a little bag with cookies, eyeing the animal shape.

"Uuuh, I could choose between bears and cats, but I thought you would like bears more..." Unimpressed, he side-glanced her and she flinched a bit, pointing slow and insecure at the small plastic bag. "I can take them back if you find it childish because they are actually baby cookies, but I find them tasty..."

"No, it's fine," Law said and put it back in the basket. "By the way, about last time..."

"Last time?" she repeated, looking clueless at him. As she saw him hesitating to continue, still about to figure what to say, she could grasp his mind, adding, "ah! _That_ last time! Don't worry, you were drunk, and I know you're a player, I suppose I'll take this as a compliment hehe."

Discreetly, Law balled his fists. A player... this was not what he wanted to hear from her, but she was right, she had never seen him different; he didn't _want_ to be different from that. His life was comfortable with how it went before. He tried to smirk carefree, saying, "a compliment? In what sense?"

"Err..." He enjoyed how her face turned pink again, not able to answer him so that she soon changed the topic, "heeeey! Something else!" Quinn hurried to her shelf, taking her Polaroid instant camera, leaving him wondering how much energy she had around this time. "I bought new films for my camera today, they're hella expensive, but so cute!"

"...Okay? And- what are-?!"

As she was obviously taking a picture of him with the basket on his lap, he looked quickly away, avoiding the capture of his face. Amused, she took the picture that the camera shoved out and looked at the black surface, falling back on the mattress next to Law with a curious smile.

"Oi, you can't just..." he paused as she turned her face to him, staring.

"Should I throw it away...?"

Somewhat saddened was her voice to that serious question, made him rolling his eyes. He put the basket down on the floor before he let himself fall to the mattress with a gruff sigh. "Whatever, keep it if you want."

She grabbed a black marker and write down on the white frame 'peace treaty' and today's date while the picture was still developing. Froze with the bright light, she had captured the guy as his head had stared away from the lens. "Ouh maaan, I didn't get cha."

"If you would've asked first, my face would be on it now."

Lowering her lids, she looked down at the guy, who relaxed with both hands behind his head on her bed. "As if."

He closed his eyes with a smirk, which only confirmed her skepticism.

Remembering something else all of a sudden, Quinn's eyes widened in her enthusiasm and she jumped up and down on her butt. "Oaah, I drew a picture of a bear in green scrubs as an example for my students! Your bobblehead doll inspired me to let them draw animals in a human way, like wearing clothes etc. You know? And since you're a surgeon and sanitary clothes and yooo, wanna see?!"

"Go on."

She got up right away and rushed to her dozen framed canvas that stood around one behind another on the floor. "Ouh, I reaaaally painted long on this picture, but I think it was too sophisticated for my students so that I made a more childish cartoony version, but I left that in school. It took me actually days to get the white color from my fingers, you can guess I use a lot of white for the bear hehe!" It was a chaos, thus she needed a little to even find it. "Uhh, wait, I'm not sure where I put that." Quinn babbled about the picture and the process while she was searching between her work, taking a little till she found it. "Ah, got it! It's-"

Walking slowly up to her bed again with the canvas in her hands, she looked at the guy who was now lying on his side, eyes closed. Quinn knelt down in front of him, putting the picture aside and leaned closer to eye him better. "...If you wanna sleep, do it somewhere else."

He didn't answer, made her unsure if he really had fallen asleep again or just rested like he had done in Shachi's and Penguin's apartment. There was no way he could have fallen asleep so fast! "Hey Doc, don't fool with me again, okay?" said she and mumbled to herself, "I should've written that down too... whereby, does it count as joke?"

Law slowly opened his eyes, staring straight into her face.

"Doc? Are you alright?" asked she. "Haven't you had enough sleep again?"

His eyes shut again and his slow breaths became audible. No, he didn't feel alright at all, he hadn't been in a good condition when he had come here anyway but only came because she had asked. Perhaps he should have headed home straight away...

Law startled as he suddenly felt her cold hand on his face, touching his cheek and forehead gently.

"I think you've got a fever."

Right diagnosed; he indeed felt like having a fever. It was not on his agenda to fall down her bed, resting here _again_. "Just give me a minute..." The wrong time to had this happen; he naively had thought this wouldn't happen and it would stay as a little cold.

Keeping his eyes close, he heard the sound of the door opened, knowing that she had gone out. He took deep and slow breaths, trying to cope the pain in his head he had been bearing the whole day, but now grew even stronger while he felt the annoying raising of his body temperature in no time.

"Oh man, have you contagioned on one of your patients?" he heard her saying then, knowing she had come back.

Her question made him smiling mentally as he thought, _it's because me stupid broke your stupid umbrella._ When would he tell her anyway? Law belonged to that breed that rarely got sick ever since then; so he was not used to the pain that spread through his limbs, aching though his high pain tolerance.

Quinn dabbed a cold wet cloth on his face, wiping off the sweat. "What does a doctor do when he gets sick? Does he have to visit another doctor, or can he prescribed himself medications and call himself sick at work?"

He smiled in his weak condition and stopped her hand. "Let me do this."

"Don't be silly, rest." Carefully, she took his hand and laid it back where it came from so that she could continue to cool his face.

He hated it to be seen that weak, that vulnerable and dependent; and then it had to be right in front of _her_. What was she probably thinking? First, his lost to that guy, now his pathetic appearance; he must appear ridiculous compared to what he showed normally. And that he gave a fuck about her opinion made the whole picture even more ridiculous. Mentally, he was laughing at himself again, wondering how he had landed there.

"Hm..." She sounded worried what he couldn't deny liking, as corrosive as it was. "Oh! Wait!"

And any second she was gone made him feel sicker. He couldn't hear when she would get up and when she would be back, his perception became too weak at a switch...

"Look, I've got some antibiotics," Quinn told then, sounding for any reason in joy. "Hehe, those are the one you've prescribed me back then."

Ah, for that reason.

"Trafalgar, take them. I've brought you enough water."

Law opened his eyes one more, staring at her as she held a glass of water and some pills in her hand. It didn't take long though and he closed them again as his ill body was too exhausted to do anything. Every second until its nano size felt extended over minutes in its length. He couldn't tell how much time passed between everything she was saying and doing.

"Trafalgar."

Her voice...

"Trafalgar...?"

He had heard it so often and yet...

"Has anyone ever told you,"

It was sweeter than his memory recalled.

"that your gray eyes are pretty?"

Law's chest tightened. He didn't know if it was due to the fever or her, but he guessed it was both.

"Hm... does it sound weird to tell that a guy? I mean, you call men handsome instead of pretty, but it's about eyes, so actually, yeah, pretty eyes, no one says handsome eyes. That would be weird. Handsome's a weird word anyway. I mean, hand-some, what does it have to do with hands?! Weird!"

God, she was so silly, he sometimes could keep listening to this pointless babble. Pointless, endless and time-consuming so that he was forced to cut it.

Exhaling deeply, inner annoyance brew in him. Slowly, his eyelids raised again and he pushed himself up. "I'll go home now..." This was too much, he couldn't stay at that place any longer.

"Nooo! You can't leave like that!" Quinn stated, worried. "Stay down."

"I'm o-"

She pushed him back to the mattress with her hands on his shoulders as he attempted to get up. Looking strict at him, she said, "I'm neither a doctor nor a nurse, but I can tell you, you're not okay!" As he stayed still, she grabbed the glass and the pills again. "If you've got the strength to leave, use it to take those."

Law sighed quietly and straightened his torso back, doing as she had said. He made it quick and swallowed the whole water annoyed, got it dripping down from the side of his mouth, floating down to his neck. Looking rather displeased at her, he wiped the stains with his sleeve away while he let off a quiet groan to emphasize his annoyance.

"You should slee- hey, are you deaf?" Quinn pushed him down again as he made another attempt to get up, her knees on the mattress. "You stay in bed!"

How did she even dare to order him around? She was so-, he just didn't know, he found no words, that fever affected his mental strength too much.

Quinn startled as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her, enclosing her tight to his body and fell back to bed with her. She lay with her head on his chest, listening to his calm heartbeats while hers accelerated slowly in speed, the rhythm of both not matching. Her arms placed on each side of the mattress, she tried to push herself up, only to note his arms didn't allow her any escape.

"Let me home or I'll infect you," he threated calmly, staring to the ceiling while she was struggling in his grip.

"Doctor, let go," Quinn said and tried to get out with more force. He didn't let her do though but tightened his hug slightly by every move she did. "Let go...!"

"You let me home?"

"No!"

Law pretended to cough loudly on her head.

"Ahh, lemme go! You'll get me sick as well!"

He wondered if she was blushing again, just like so many times whenever he came close to her.

"Doctor... this is weird..." Quinn mumbled as she had given up on fighting against him. He then felt her full weight on his torso, her little fists next to her head while her face stared aside. "I have a boyfriend and I know, you just do so to threaten me, but it's easy to misunderstand..."

Yes, she had one. But he didn't care. He wanted to hold her, just a little bit before his eyes would strike and fall asleep with her in his arms.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** I know that a lot of you thought of Quinn being insensitive and annoying in the last chapter, and I've gotta say that's how I wanted it (kinda). It was important to me that my OCs get flaws that are not easy to overlook or turned funny (i.e. Quinn's selflessness/babble). However, as you have read in this chapter, she has that extremely childish character sometimes because she feels sort of comfortable around Law and thought they had this teasing thing; but he's just extremely annoyed of it because of Sabo's effect on her, so jealousy etc._

 _Anyway, I find it funny though that you all were first like 'that guy deserves everything bad' to 'poor guy', after he became more sentimental XD I'm glad I could develop his character into more positive to you :) (Quinn's cracking his hard shell more and more hehe)_

 _And I'm happy to hear that Judy became more likable to some of you :)!_

 _And! Of course we'd love to see Law win, but it's obvious Oda made Sabo physically stronger ;) Law's stamina's not from this universe though lol!_

 _ **Savage Kill** \- I read quite often that they're sexually not compatible with each other yet, so I was curious about the way readers imagined their bed stories to happen then haha._

 _ **rikichancute** \- yes, I'm not a fan of writing guy gets the girl endings, but don't worry. Killing Quinn off would be even too sad and theatrical for me lol! None of them deserves that._

 _ **Cottonball428** \- Ah, no, the first phone call wasn't that long, just long enough to make Quinn scrutinize its importance for a moment. But yeah the second time he was gone was quite long. Glad I could show a good chemistry between the two though the opposite personalities :)_

 _ **Tori Ki** \- hope your exams went well, happy you're still with me hehe :) thanks!_


	34. Confession

**34\. Confession**

It was deep in the night as Quinn struggled with a bad dream, her face distorting to discomfort. She moved on her bed a little, obviously bothered in her sleep while she hugged to the closest thing in her reach. Then she opened her eyes. Staring across the dark room, she realized it had been nothing occurring in the real world and she breathed out some relief. Quietly, she kept her look into space, recalling her nightmare once in her head to perhaps tell Judy about it later while she snuggled onto the torso next to her, her arm hugging the waist tightly. And like that, she maintained silence for a while and looked a little above her head, before she moved her face down again.

Wait.

Quinn's breath stuck in her throat and she pushed herself immediately up, glancing back on the person she lied next to. _HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS CHRIST!_ Through the small moonlight, she had needed a moment but saw then that it was not the person she first had thought it to be. Her shoulders quirked up as she shut her own mouth in huge shock with both hands, glaring at the black-haired young man on her mattress still sleeping. Oh _my god, oh my god, oh my god!_ she panicked mentally, drawing a cross over her body from her forehead to her shoulders to her torso. _Dear lord, I'm not religious, but if you and hell are real, please forgive for this, I'm not cheating or anything, just fell asleep beside an ill friend! Please, please, please, please!_

Staggered about the moment, she couldn't believe how she had forgotten about it. Nothing much had happened after both of them had fallen to bed, nothing but both giving in to their tiredness.

Getting down from her bed soon, she tiptoed to her desk, palpating for her phone. Almost three said the time as she found the device. They had been sleeping for about four hours; it was still shocking to her that she actually had happened to fall asleep _on_ him and by the end hugged him after her body seemed to have rolled down.

 _God Quinn, this is nothing big!_ she thought, _you always hug Penguin and Shachi too, girl!_ Uncertain, she looked back at Law, who still remained in his sleep. When she got closer to him again, Quinn carefully touched his face with the back of her hand, remembering why he was sleeping in her room in the first place. She turned the flashlight of her cell phone on, but reduced the strength with her hand, lighting through her desk drawer. A thermometer, exactly what she had been looking for, found its way in her hands and though it was clean, she wiped the tip with a tissue one more before she carefully put it in his mouth and waited.

To her relief, it showed her the decrease of his fever, though it was still slightly there. Quinn took the water bowl and the towel she had left on the floor and went outside quietly to change the water. Since it was pretty late, she guessed that Judy was already sleeping, wondering if she had seen her little 'accident' from before. It was easy to misunderstand, so she feared that her friend wouldn't believe any explanation, misinterpreting things.

Back in her room, she let the door wide open for the light in the halls to shine in so that she could see enough without disturbing the ill. Sitting with her back to him, she wrung out the fresh cold water from the towel and turned her upper body to Law, laying the drenched item folded on his forehead as she brushed his hair away.

Quinn smiled. "So strong and now so vulnerable."

Of course, she didn't like to see him ill, but she liked to see him so peaceful. He was for most in tension or just lazed around, but only during deep sleep sessions in peace with himself. It led nearly to compassion and worry the more she studied him, and once again, Quinn wondered why he was how he was.

Carefully, she took his warm hand, sweaty from his fever, and eyed the tattoo on his fingers. Someone with a good past didn't attract to ink permanently 'Death' on both hands. She knew as good as nothing about him. _So, in half a year, huh?_ she thought and smiled again, letting his hand down. As curious as she was, he must have his reasons to never mention anything from his childhood, thus she wouldn't ask him nor Shachi or Penguin. Was he calculating half a year to trust her? Such a funny weirdo with his calculations. The fact made her happy though to know that he intended to befriend her longer, hence she questioned her skepticism.

As Quinn sat there in silence, staring at Law mindless, she poked his cheek softly before a tender stroke with the back of her fingers followed. For any reason she felt weird about his previous action, actually hugging her. She was probably the 100th woman he had held in his arms and even though he would state his hug as a threat, Quinn thought he was not the person to do such in the condition he showed.

"I don't know Doc... I think you need-" she cut her sentence and laughed a little, "nevermind. You don't hear me anyway, do you? ...Cliffhanger, if yes... ha-ha..."

Tired at these hours, Quinn decided to head outside finally. She filled a glass water and put it with some antibiotics on her desk, next to the bed. Getting out with some sleepwear in her grasp, she closed the door and moved towards Judy's room.

Nervously, she stood in front of it and wondered if she should enter or just get comfortable on the couch. She eventually decided to knock quietly and opened the door, peeking inside. "Judy, you're awake?" said she in wonder as she saw her friend sitting on the bed with her cell phone, leaning against the wall while her night lamp lighted the room.

" _You're_ awake?" she asked back.

With a wry smile, Quinn pointed to her behind, looking away from her eyes. "Did you...?"

"Yes."

"It wasn't how it looked..."

"Okay?" Judy replied as if she wasn't ready for believing any excuse while her look on her phone showed rather disinterest though.

Quinn furrowed her brows, unsure about the atmosphere in the room. "Can I sleep here with you tonight?"

"Sure," her friend said, "sleep wherever you want."

Calmly, she inhaled and stepped inside, closing the door behind her. "That with Trafalgar, uhh, I asked him to come over so that I could give him the gift I told you about, but he was ill and got a fever all of a sudden," she began to tell as she started to change. "H-he wanted to go home though, but you had to see his condition, I just couldn't let him out at this time! So he threatened me to infect me as well, you know, getting closer with his bacteria and coughing at me, and-and, yeah, we eventually fell asleep next to each other..."

Judy looked up at her again, eyeing her friend from head to toe as she stood in her underwear around, putting on light shorts and a baggy shirt. She remained silent, trying not to comment anything but her explanation. "And you tell me that because you're scared I'd tell Sabo?"

Quinn looked at her, smiling with her lips half-sucked while her eyes weren't touched from it. "This and.. that."

"This and that?"

"You know," the blonde said, looking to the side. "That."

Understanding what she meant, Judy started to redden slowly and looked annoyed away. Her little blush loosened the tension instantly and Quinn moved next to her on the bed, leaning closer to her.

"Heeey," said she with a brighter smile, "you can tell me, I'm yooo bestfriendo."

"Have I ever said that?" Judy replied, staring back on the display of her phone.

"You said you loooove me."

"What? When did I?"

"I also told you about Saboooo."

"Yeah, because this was obvious."

Supporting herself on her arms, Quinn backed off and glared at Judy with half-open eyes. "Oh come on, that you got a thing for that dude in my bed _not_?" As Judy didn't respond, Quinn sighed loudly and leaned back as well, staring ahead, listing with her fingers, "you haven't brought another guy home since him, you're blushing every time this topic comes up, you're, uhm, jealous when-"

"Me and jealous?!" Judy said in defense. "Jealous of whom?!"

"Psssht!" Quinn hushed with her index finger vertically to her lips, pointing her eyes over to her room.

Judy shifted her eyes briefly in the same direction, before she leaned unamused closer to her friend, whispering with the same attitude, "jealous of whom? Huh?"

Quinn smiled at her widely with tight lips, almost provocatively. "...When I'm getting along with him."

"You-?"

"Of course I see that sometimes, doooon't worry," she stated airily and rolled her eyes with joy. "Between him and me, there's nothing, we're just friends. I guess... Don't cha trust your best friend?" She straightened a bit and placed her fist determined to her heart, looking up. "And my heart's devoted to Sabo now!" As Judy looked at her with narrowed eyes, she returned to look from the corner of her eye, maintaining her posture. "Trafalgar's not my type anyway," she added with a small laugh, "too dry and salty."

Not giving up in her conviction but keeping the friendly stare on her friend, the latter slumped back. "Fine, geez..." she said and sighed gruffly. "A crush. A tiny little one."

In a snap, Quinn pointed with her finger at her. "Told cha!"

Embarrassed shyness colored the brunette's cheeks again. "Yeah, yeah... stop the fuzz..."

"Don't worry! Although I seem to be cool with him, sometimes..., there'll _never_ be something between us," Quinn stated, lifting her open hand to refuse anything of it to happen. "Oh god, _never._ "

"Uhu."

She glomped onto her friend from the side, cheek on cheek. "Promise, promise, promise, promise!"

"Gurl, it's just a fart of a crush, nothing serious," Judy claimed with eyes up to the ceiling, her limbs still down instead of returning her hug. "...But aren't you afraid that your guy gets jealous when you're so comfy with another guy."

"Nope, Sabo's somehow not the jealous type," Quinn stated and sank her head to her friend's lap, staring from beneath up to her with a satisfied smile. "But seeing you having something, even so shallow, for a guy's so refreshing. I knew you're not as heartless as you act to be."

"What?" Judy queried displeased as she looked down at her.

"I love you, Judy."

"..."

Judy pushed her away. "Oh geez, get away from me! Eww!"

"Hehe!" Quinn hugged onto her side again tightly, overly happy. "Love you, love you, love you, love you, love you."

* * *

The fellow day, a bank holiday, Quinn was out with Sabo while Judy stayed home on her free day. She filled a bowl chicken soup to get it to their ill guest in her friend's room, wondering if he was already awake. Quinn had been gone for a while now and had told that he hadn't been awakened when she last had checked on him. Judy felt quite nervous to be with him alone since it had been weeks again. Her relationship to him was sure not as easy-going as he had with her friend, made her wonder how she had managed to get along with him so well.

Quinn was sadly right; she _was_ jealous, no denial. The way he interacted with her friend like she had seen with no women was annoying. His flirts when the two first had met outside the hospital were obvious (he had done the same with her) and she hadn't taken that amiss since Quinn _was_ appealing, but everything after was way more personal than he would admit. Trusting her friend's words though, Judy tried to blend out her jealousy. Not that she wanted to start anything romantic with Law ever, it was just the feeling that annoyingly accompany her for quite some time.

Calmly, she took the bowl and moved to Quinn's room, knocking on the door. As no reaction followed, she opened it to peer in carefully and it was not surprising that she found him awake deciding not to answer since he wasn't the big chatter anyway.

"Law?" Judy approached him slowly, "Quinn told me about your fever last night."

As if she had hit a trigger, she could observe the little twitch in his eyes that was actually so small to be noticed, before he asked, "what did she tell you?"

It seemed he was worried that she could've misinterpreted things and told her, thus Judy calmed him with Quinn's harmless explanation from the prior night. "You feel better today?" she added and put the soup on the desk.

"Yeah," he answered with his face to the ceiling, his voice calm and husky. He had his forearm up resting on his forehead while his other hand lay on his belly. Like he was somehow helpless with the situation, he mentioned quietly, "she cared for me last night."

"She told me that too," Judy said, "do you need anything now?"

Law pushed himself up slowly, stretching his neck. "No thanks, I guess I'm fine. My fever's gone. It was nothing serious but just from a cold."

She watched him first quietly, but perked up with a smile, trying to change the qualmish mood. "Uhm, I made chicken soup for you!" Her eyes drifted aside with a suddenly more uneasy smile, as she also mentioned, " _Quinn_ suggested me to do..."

"Judy," Law said, still looking down at his front. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course," she replied, gulping a little. It was uncertain to her why she felt so nervous as she already talked herself into accepting but not committing to her feelings. He had no interest in her anyway, she should care less about anything he would tell her.

"You never have grown feelings for someone before, right?"

Her heart skipped half a beat as he asked, his face tilting to her slowly. Trying to stay calm and casual, she replied, "yes?"

"Ever had something in this direction?"

It was probably the first time ever he was exchanging so many words with her on a personal level, more than the little flirts to get the mood in bed; and then it had to hurt like that. It was so obvious to Quinn, why not to him?

"Well, not really, maybe currently a little..." Judy looked away, mumbling, "crush." He remained silent to her answer and looked back ahead, made her wonder about his thoughts. There was no way around for him to deny anything regarding his view on her friend, his calm, but uncertain behavior showing his bother.

"Does it feel strange to you?"

"You got a thing for Quinn," she finally said and he looked at her, half in defeat, half in shock. "Right?"

With a quiet but annoyed sigh, he turned his legs to ground, resting his elbows on them while his head sank onto his hand. It seemed he was contemplating whether to say something or not. But he changed to full defeat, answering almost under his breath, "yeah..."

She knew, she just knew it...

"How do you know?"

"It's obvious," she responded and looked with a wry smile briefly to the side, "at least to me..."

"I've never talked about it to anyone, especially not her," he said. "Did-"

"She doesn't know." They locked eyes, got her seeing his questioning and somewhat worried gaze. "I haven't talked to her about it, and she's currently too blind to see it."

"Too blind?" he asked with a tiny smirk. "Is it _that_ obvious?"

"..."

"Does anyone else know about it?"

He was treating it like a big secret, made her also wonder how much of a threat it was to him, and how much he liked Quinn already. For her, he was just a crush, since she knew nothing about him, but Law and Quinn had spent much more personal time with each other. "I don't know, I might be a woman, but I don't do these gossips," she said, trying to be humorous.

"Do me the favor and keep it for yourself."

"Of course..." she said and clenched her jaw a little as she saw him in deep thoughts. It was so self-explaining to her that what had happened last night was not because only to 'threat' her. "But you know she's-"

"In a relationship. I know." He got up, staring at the glass water she had left for him, already emptied. "Honestly, I don't like how things are going. You should understand that best since we're on the same boat."

"What do you mean?"

"People like you and me are not thought to be in romantic relationships."

"I..." Just like she had said. "I suppose..." She smiled then to herself, saying "people like you and me are not taken seriously anyway. I guess people will bad-mouth us if we stepped too close to anyone." Though he said nothing to it, she was sure to interpret his silence as agreement. Standing next to each other, faces in opposite direction, Judy tilted her head up to him. "But can _I_ ask you something?" He looked back at her. "Why did you choose that lifestyle?"

He was in pause again, regarding her eyes intently so that she wondered if he was interested enough to question _her_ agenda in his mind. "I guess there was no one yet to made me not. And I don't want your friend to be that someone."

"And what'd you intend to do now?"

"I don't know..." he said with another quiet exhalation to his front. "Satisfying myself elsewhere, getting over her, whatever. It's best to stay away from someone, who got feelings for someone else."

His missing awareness was so painful. "You're right."

"Wanna help?"

Surprised about his latter question, she looked back up and blinked at him. "What?"

Law turned to her and grabbed her wrists, pushing the brunette down to the mattress. Being above her, he looked into her face, taken aback by his move. "I mean, it's been a while."

Judy's heart pounded soon as he allowed her his closeness again after so long. "D-don't you wanna rest?"

"I'm at my best now," he said and one hand wandered down, filming around her throat. Judy gasped out, blushing and he choked her slightly with the knowledge what turned her on.

She squinted her eyes and turned completely red. "But... but..." It was so wrong to do now after this conversation, and though, she became weak again and struggled with rejecting to fall for him in any way. The world felt so unfair in a switch, and she again wished to be not herself. To be rather Quinn.

Law smirked and choked her harder as he leaned down to her, made her gasping, his other hand disappearing under her satin dress. "We have each other now, I'll get over my crush," said he and moved his lips closer to her ear, whispering, "you'll get over your."

* * *

"Cuddle-break?"

"Not now."

"Just one minute?"

"Nope," Sabo said, trying to concentrate on the paperwork he was doing at his desk.

"30 seconds?" Quinn asked then, somewhere at his near behind.

"Nah."

"15!"

He sighed and put his arm over the backrest of his chair, staring at her as she lay on the lower part of his bunk bed, looking at him upside down. "Quinn, I said I need to finish that first," said he with a small smile.

Quinn pouted her lips, changing the tone of her voice to a mock-whimper. "Cuddle break..."

He rolled himself over to her, staring down at her face while she was still pouting. "Should I get you a teddy bear to cuddle?"

"I wanna cuddle Sabo," she said and rolled on her stomach, looking at him with both cheeks cupped in her hands, "he never cuddles."

"That's because we're outside most of the time and..." Slight pink developed on his cheek as he looked with a wry smile to the side, thinking of any cheesy type of public display of affection. "Well..."

Quinn hit her hands on the armrest of his chair, pushing herself closer to his face. "Cuddle me! Here and now!"

He startled. "What?"

"Pleaaase."

"Wow, if I had known you're so in need of love," he said and she looked at him with huge eyes, daring him to continue that sentence, what got him grinning amused. "Just kidding."

Quinn withdrew and got up, straightening her hair and outfit. "Alright, I see, I'm too much stress for you, what?"

"Sure you are," he agreed on her playful huff, shifting himself on the chair back to his desk.

She crossed her arms and looked at his backside lazily and conceited. "Good, then I go and get my love somewhere else."

"Alright, have fun."

"I will!" she assured.

"Yo," he responded, showing no sign of care.

Quinn narrowed her eyes with a rosy touch upon her cheeks, placing her hands to her hips as she slowly walked towards the door. "There are plenty of good-looking men outside."

"Cool."

"Single men."

"Yo."

"Who wanna give love."

"Have fun," he commented with a light hand wave, not giving her decent attention at all.

"I'll have the greatest fun!" she stated and tugged the door open to disappear. Outside, door closed, Quinn stayed like not announced in front of his room, waiting a bit before she quietly peered inside again. As he seemed to still care less, she walked back into the room. "Meh, you're stuuuupid!" Lips arched deep, Quinn stiffly moved back to the bed and lay down, facing the wall in fetal curl. "I'll sleep here now, bye bye."

Sabo pushed himself with both hands from his desk, exhaling with a smile. "Fine, cuddle-break." He got up and moved down to the mattress, wrapping his arms from behind around her waist. "Judy was right, you're so cliche."

Quinn grinned after she successfully made him giving-in. "Tehe, I'm sorry." Smiling endlessly as he finally cuddled her, she tilted her face a little to him. "What are you working on anyway?"

"I prepare the stuff for our upcoming event; speeches and so."

"The event you don't want me to come?" She grabbed both his forearms and pressed it closer to her, smiling.

"Of course I want you to come...!" he claimed, pushing his head a bit up to look at her.

"I'm not convinced about this," she replied frankly.

"I really want!" he said then out of nervosity, feeling bad that he made her thinking so.

"Meh."

"Promise me you will come!"

Quinn suddenly turned on her back, smiling at him like she had waited to see more from his side coming that would convince her about his true attitude. "Okay, I promise."

And he, of course, noticed that. "Oh man, you're witty."

She jerked her head up quickly to peck his lips before he tried to reposition to more comfort. "Sabo, I- Sabo...!"

"Oh, I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" He flinched with both open hands up in the air, reddened. "I'm really sorry!"

Covering her breasts with both arms shyly crossed, she glared at him, at least equally flushed "I-it's fine, you just touched it accidentally. It just came out of nothing." Quinn poked her own cheek several times, quick and harshly to overcome her embarrassment, avoiding his face with a weird smile as they stood for a moment in silence. "I-I'm sorry... this is kinda awkward now."

Sabo breathed in deeply as his eyes looked away, rubbing his neck in guilt. "A bit."

"I mean, since we're together now, I guess it should be normal...? I mean, no, not normal, but something I shouldn't be ashamed of... I'm sorry, I guess I overreacted..."

"No, you didn't," he said and leaned back to her, both his arms supporting his weight on each side besides her shoulder. "I was clumsy, and I've got no right to touch you in any way you don't want."

Though the small smile, she saw he felt uncomfortable about it too, not able to hold long eye contact. It was new to see him blushing that much, she had almost thought he was easy with everything she did or said. Staring longer at him, processing his last words in her head, Quinn felt an extreme urge to glomp him again. And so she did and lay her arms around his neck, pulling him with a squeal down to her. "You're awesome!"

 _What the..._ Sabo thought confused as his face landed between her breasts again, wondering how dense her perception was to not notice that anti-logic. God, and women chests were soft... Crap! He didn't want to think like that. "But Quinn..."

She let go of him, blinking as he hovered above her again. "Hm?"

"I'm honest to you."

Her lips tensed with lowered corners once more, staring at him insecurely. "Oh god, not again. Can you make your announcements less scary-serious?"

"Uh..." He looked at her somewhat blankly, pondering as she awaited something loosening from his mouth. Sabo then pointed to her chest. "...They feel like marshmallows."

"Sabo...!" Quinn shouted embarrassed.

"Just kidding!" he said and laughed before his eyes drifted sheepishly to the side. "Well, actually not..."

"Maaaaan, go away," she said and pushed his face farther, fidgeting with her legs as she tried to bear his silly comment.

"Hey I just wanted to loose the scary-serious tension," he claimed, trying to push his face back. Quinn pulled her hand away then and turned on her side, hiding her face, made him furrow his brows a bit. "Are you mad of me now?" As she didn't answer but hid a little more, he leaned closer to her. "Heeey, Marshmallooow. I-I mean _you_! Not your..."

"You're so silly." She slowly turned her face back to him, smiling with a helpless laugh. How could she be mad at him? "Anyway, what was your _honest_ announcement?"

Almost had forgotten about it, he showed himself rather uncomfortable back on track. "I..." he started and Quinn looked at him somewhat anxiously, trying to be prepared for everything. It couldn't be as bad as it seemed right then, otherwise, the silly remark he had dropped before would be quite displaced. Sabo took a deep breath and exhaled everything out slowly. "I never had something with a girl before."

She had been prepared for everything but that, thus she glared at him in disbelief. "Means... I'm your... first girlfriend...?"

He looked at her, biting the inside of his cheeks before he breathed out again with a swift look up. "Woah, this is more awkward than I thought."

"No-no! Nothing awkward!" Quinn said right away, shaking her head.

"Yeah, you are," he confessed. "And I never had dated, kissed or slept with any girl before. The time was not there, my life was focused on other things that seemed more important to me."

"Oh god..."

"What?" he asked, clearing his throat a little.

She placed her fist to her lips, smiling tenderly at him with lips and eyes. "This makes you even more adorable..."

"You making fun of me?"

Quinn nodded and showed him a small gap between her thumb and index finger, her smile not faltering. "Just a bit."

"Marshmallow," he said, a wry but threatening smirk pulled on him. "And I don't mean _you_."

"Ah, chill-chill, I'm being nice," she responded, walling herself with both palms up. "I appreciate hearing that." Sucking her own lips due curiosity then, she asked, "but, you have been in love before, right?"

His face seemed tenser all of a sudden and looked briefly away. "Not that I know..."

"Then I'm honored!" Quinn stated, smiling broadly. She withdrew it quickly as she noticed no more reaction from his side, either he was staring frozen at her or into space, but certainly in thoughts. "Sabo?" she called him in wonder, poking his nose then, "heeey, you're home?"

He snapped perplexed back at her. "Huh?"

"What have you been thinking?" she asked, receiving some suspense from his face as he stared at her innocent face quietly. Quinn was helpless to understand what was going on but decided to stay calm instead of piercing him too much with questions.

Sabo clenched his fists. "Quinn, I-" He stopped and pressed his lips against her.

Startled about his sudden move, way more passionate than he was usually doing, her chest tightened in nervosity and excitement, heart throbbing heavily. She returned his kisses instantly, not bad at all therefore that he hadn't really kissed any girl before. As he backed off, she gave him a wondrous look with her whole face tinted in color, still taken by that sudden kiss. "Sabo?"

"Don't get me wrong," he said and stroke her cheekbone with his thumb.

"Okay? You're scaring me?" she stated and tried to overcome her unsettled feeling with laughter. As he seemed to regard her intensely eye to eye, saying nothing with his narrowed brows, Quinn lightly hit his shoulder, forcing a small laugh again. "Stop being so mysterious, dude."

"You're too kind, Quinn." He surprised her with that, and even more when he suddenly hugged her tightly, saying, "you're wonderful, really. Whatever happens, don't let anyone tell you something else."

"Huh?" Quinn didn't understand and just let the moment happen, her eyes moving carefully to his head beside her. She kept blushing, feeling unsure about a response and just hugged back. "Th-thank you...?"

His upper body raised as he filled his lungs with air again, clearly hearing his breath close to her ear. She caressed his back as she assumed he wasn't feeling completely alright that moment, no speaking but only breathing filled the air between them. "Sabo...?" Quinn said worried and he hugged her once more tighter, made her squeak a little as it was quite strong. Once he loosened again, let her catch some breath, he kissed her neck.

Her eyes shot open and her fingers trembled instantaneously a little. Quinn felt his warm breath over her skin, making her heart moving faster until the palpitation was out of casual as his hand landed on her hip with another soft kiss on her neck. He moved his head a little up to check on her, she glaring at him speechless but not rejecting, before he fell back on kissing her again, Quinn going with the flow.

Supposedly to be hypnotized in the moment that shall build a world only of them two, she though felt every little detail from another point of view.

None of them went with the intention to sleep with each other that day, but that type of closeness was also a big step to their intimacy. His sweet kisses weren't as sweet as usual; perhaps still soft, but quick and spicy. It was okay so far until she halted her breath reflexively as his thumb just grazed her skin a little above her pants.

Every second suddenly felt like a stitch.

Every single one - one after another.

She lost control over the rhythm her lungs would make when oxygen got in and out. She thought her heart would stop any moment as her sight blurred. The room looked in a blink of an eye bigger than it ought to be.

Throwing her subtle shaking arms around his neck to interrupt the kiss to avoid him seeing her, she urged herself to play along when she was almost at the state of crying.

But she didn't want to stop him. She wanted him to like her.

"SABOOO!"

Abruptly, they parted as the door dashed open, Luffy standing at the doorway.

"Urgh!" Sabo shouted out as he hit his head on the upper bunk.

"Dadan's ill, she won't cook today! Can we order?" the little boy asked, but noticed suddenly the awkward silence. "What's wrong with you?"

Quinn's heart. It hammered against her chest. With so much relief.

"Ill? Oh no, how bad," said she, getting up right away to hide her face from Sabo. "Have you prepared her a tea?"

The boy narrowed his eyes up at her. "What? Why should I?"

"Because she's always being nice to you, so you're being nice to her," Quinn said and put her hands under his armpits, lifting him up on her arms.

"Ehh? She always scolds and hits my butt!" Luffy told displeased, carried outside by her to get down to the kitchen.

"Only because she means well with you."

"This is unlogic!"

Their voices faded from the room until Sabo was alone. He slumped down on his back, running his hand through his hair, sighing. He was certain she was okay, but her behavior after got him unsure. _I'm sorry, Quinn..._ thought he and covered his face with his hands, groaning.

* * *

In the late evening, Quinn turned her key in the door lock, opening it. The apartment was dark as she went inside, analyzing it swiftly. "I'm home, Judy. Judy?" Left without response, she got off her shoes and moved inside her room, switching on the light. "Huh? New bed sheets?" she mumbled and put down her little backpack, walking out with a plastic bag.

She knocked on her roommate's door, opening it as she heard a 'yes'. "Judy? You made my bed?"

As usual, she found her lying in hers and the bright phone light against her face while the main light was off. "Yeah, was making mine, so I thought I'm gonna making yours too."

"Oh! Thank you!" Quinn said, smiling and moved over to her after she had switched the light on.

Judy put her phone down, dazzled by the light. "How was your day? Anything interesting happened?"

"Uhm..." Interesting perhaps, but nothing she felt telling her friend now. "No. Unless you wanna hear my lovey-dovey stories!"

"Uhh, no thanks."

Turning her head a little through her room and to the outside direction, Quinn asked, "where's the ill?"

"He went home."

"What? Already?"

Judy got herself a little more comfy on her bed. "He felt better today, his fever was completely gone, so he left."

"Oh... I brought you guys sushi. We ordered too much, so those are leftovers," Quinn told, lifting the plastic bag to show her. "Did he eat something?"

"He did."

"Phew, I'm so full," she said then and lay down next to her friend. "I've got the feeling I'll gain lots of weight when I'm with Sabo. We're definitely eating too much."

"Sounds nice, you love eating and to workout, so?" Judy said.

"Hehe, but I feel so lazy to workout these days."

"Maybe it's the comfortzone of a relationship."

"Sure..." Quinn replied, smiling wryly about that guess. "I've stopped working out to look good for any guy since long."

"Honestly, your body's perfect how it is now anyway," Judy said and eyed her up and down. "I wonder why he hasn't eaten _you_ up alrea-"

"Judy!"

As she saw her displeased face about it, more serious than usual, she replied laid-back, "what, hey, just wondering."

Quinn sighed quietly and looked to the ceiling, both hands on her belly. "He told me today I'm his first girlfriend..."

"What? Nooo way!" the brunette exclaimed completely surprised.

And Quinn's mouth corners quirked up a bit. "And that I got his first kiss..."

Now _that_ was an interesting topic. "Oh my god, he's more inexperienced than you?!"

In spite of what had happened today, what had made them ending up silent that topic, Quinn still couldn't think any bad of him. Because he hadn't done anything wrong but she. Smiling slightly, she said, "it's so cute..."

"That's really... cute," Judy commented, her ear less ready to hear her swoon over him.

"I feel so honored... tehe."

"Cute. Looks like you two are growing together, what? Whereas... I bet due to your ex-guy, you even had tried more than me..."

"Can we not talk about that?" Quinn said, rolling her eyes away with pursed lips, quite grumpy. "Nothing he did was nice... or maybe I'm asexual..."

"Sure you are," Judy agreed sarcastically. "I wonder if any women can get turn on by that dude when a girl that was totally into him couldn't."

"Okay, he maybe wasn't a ten, but he also wasn't a zero," the blonde said then, a bit annoyed that she always talked her ex worse than he actually was in appearance.

"But definitely no more than a three, coming from someone who slept with many types."

"Yeah, but you're super picky and only sleep with eights," Quinn said, her hand stretched with her palm down, on neck level, before she raised it on head level, "and higher."

Amused about it, Judy laughed a bit, thinking dreamily back to the handsome bunch she had ridden in the past. "However, I'm sure you're not asexual. You're just that typa girl needing the right guy."

"A-and what if I am?! Oh my god, then-then, my relationships will be foredoomed to failure! I don't want this! But signs are there! I'm getting uncomfortable when the topic comes up; everything hurts or seems gross to me; I never had an orgasm; I find masturbating strange; I can't get turn on; the slightest sexual contact gets me anxiety; I never long fo-"

"Geez, gurl, I'm sure you're _not_ asexual," Judy cut her off.

"But-but-but, signs...!"

"And asexual doesn't mean you can't climax, the majority of women hasn't during sex." Judy looked at her friend, who glared at her with puppy eyes, her upper lip hanging out. Not that she would know much about asexual people, but she had known a few stories of some who thought to be, but turned out to be the dirtiest. Staring at Quinn, she said, "don't you ever had..." but paused to ponder for a funny description, which was, "a tickle down there when you're with your current guy?"

"A what?" Quinn queried with minimized eyes, "a _tickle_? Can you describe it any more ridiculous?"

She tabbed her finger on her cheek, looking up. "Hmm, lemme see..."

"Oh my god! See?! I feel uncomfortable about this topic!" Quinn said then, face slightly reddened "Nooot a good sign Judy, not a good sign."

"Go to sleep," Judy told her straight with half-lidded eyes. "You're worrying about nonsense again."

"Yes, I do! Oh my god, I totally do!" she agreed instantly while getting up from the bed, leaving the sushi bag on the spot, her eyes completely outspaced. "I'm sorry, I get myself bed-ready, oh god, oh god..." Quinn walked to the door, staring on the floor as she mumbled, "a tickle... what the hell..." When she seemed to be outside, she turned back, hanging over the doorframe to look at her friend a last time. "Oh and, maybe you should call Trafalgar and ask him if he's alright?" she suggested, only to support their relationship. "You know, this guy's a little too confident with his strength."

"Call him?" Judy repeated with a brow rose.

"Oh, right... nevermind. I forgot neither one of us got his number," she noted, smiled at her with an 'oops' expression. "Then, good night! What a private guy..."

Judy kept her eyes on the door even after Quinn had closed it. _Trafalgar..._ she thought. They weren't even calling each other by their first names.

She grabbed her phone and looked at it.

* * *

 _"I'll try to avoid her as much as I can for a while. In any case I need your help, I'd appreciate it if you text me back."_

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Yes, he's totally falling for her, but who said anyway it always has to be the girl first ;)? Men are so emotional creatures when it comes to their own feelings lol xD_

 _ **Mei** \- Wow, I wish I could comment on every single reaction of yours, because they always made my day XD Well, I don't know, in my other stories romance is involved, but I always follow an individual storyline in which the OC and canon character happens to fall in love (it's definitely topic). And well, yes, it's One Piece, actually all OC/Law more or less (hey, I'm just another Law fangirl haha) XD __Alright, I won't doubt your loyalty hahaha (yeah, I'm always kinda scared that my stories develop into directions people don't like, thus drop). However, thank you very much for reading, with or without review! Here have some love lololo~_


	35. Unprofessional purpose

**35\. Unprofessional purpose**

A heterosexual man liked a lot about things their opposite gender did to attract. Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, a totally subjective thing; everyone had their own preferences; another taste in hair color, body shape, personality or whatever there was to differ the female from each other. But there was one thing that let many men turn eye the moment they sighted it.

Sundresses.

It was a hot day, nearly at the end of May; probably the hottest so far this year. The street was filled with sweaty people in shorts and tank tops, and for once every few a fluttering piece of fabric, tucked to a woman's body, turning gazes.

Quinn never liked the shallow look of men on her, checking her out like she was to rent; but she loved her cute little dress with the light fabric that swang with her motion along the street, paired with brown summer wedges. They stared, but she kept smiling. For some, high temperatures might be hell; but she loved them. When the sun lighted the streets, emphasizing the green on the trees while a crisp and clean blue sky hovered above.

"A customer?" a guy asked his coworker, looking up from the car he was working on, black stains and sweat marking his face.

The other guy with a cigar in his mouth looked over as well, eyeing the young woman up and down that was getting closer, a few meters away in the bright sun. "A pretty hot customer."

Quinn smiled at them, stopping in front of the two mechanics and they stared at her in the protecting shadow of the garage. "Greet ya, lil' lady. How can we help?" said the one on the ground, getting up.

"Hi, sorry, I'm looking for Penguin."

"Penguin?" the guy with the cigar repeated, and took it out, throwing it to ground. He talked and moved slowly while his small eyes scanned her decently. "I'll get him for you, what's your name?"

"Tell him, it's Quinn," she said.

As he turned around, he perked his head at his, also staring, coworker. "Work."

He got back down to the car after he gave Quinn a small flirty smile while the other disappeared in the back. Trying not to show her concern, she briefly smiled back before she looked away and hoped for her friend's quick appearance. Penguin's workplace was how she imagined the stereotypical craftsman's environment, dominated by the pretty manly men. Beside the smell of metal and gasoline, a cloud of sweat lingered around. Perhaps it was also just the weather today that made those body scents so obvious.

"Geez, shut up," she heard Penguin's voice minutes later from afar.

"Just the number."

"Quinn!" Penguin called out in joy, ignoring the other guy he came back with. He eyed her from head to toe, cheeks coloring pink as she stood in her summerly outfit, the dress tight to the waist, but falling softly in the length.

"Hellooo, my favorite Penguin," she said and hugged him, but backed off as he warned her about his wet shirt.

"Ah, it's pretty hot today, I'm quite sticky. It's nice to see you, what are you doing here?" That was the first time she was visiting him at his workplace out from any fight.

"Due to the heat, our school released everyone earlier," she replied and lifted a white plastic bag in her hand. "I was worried about you and brought you something cold to drink."

"Huh? For me?!" he said surprised and took the bag with cans of juice in different flavors. "Thanks! I think the heat's getting a little on my circulation, but else I'm fine. Law said I can do light work, my ribs will be healed in a few weeks."

"Aw, that's good to hear," she said, "but your arm's alright now?"

"Almost cured! However, these days I'm just in the back on the phone or sorting tools and screws," he said. Quinn listened to him then as he started telling a little about his work in small talk manner, but got distracted as she heard some murmur from the side.

She occasionally gazed discreetly over to his standing coworkers, who talked to each other, obviously about the two. "As if he could land at something like that," one said while the other replied, "yeah, that's never his girlfriend."

Madly, she lowered her eyelids about those chit-chatters and decided to step closer to Penguin, wrapping her arms around him to kiss him without hiding or shame on the cheek. What was that anyway? Some _thing_ like _that_?

Penguin blushed in confusion and stared at her. "Qu-Qui-?"

"Psst," she said quietly and smiled, backing off. "Let's get back to your work, you don't mind me around, right?"

"O-of course not...! Follow me...!" he responded and tried to lead her the way confidently, still shy about her move. Though it was not a one-timer for her to kiss his cheek in a friendly sense, it probably will always stay surprising and nice.

The two passed his coworkers, both men staring baffled ahead while Quinn behaved casually with Penguin on her side, who had noted nothing.

Inside the garage, it was even 'manlier' than she had expected with cliches that she had hoped to be not real. They passed a table with a full ashtray and half to empty drunk coke and energy drink cans, betimes also piled with beer. On the floor gathered full trash bags, maybe taken out of the container and knotted, but left standing out of laziness. The jewel in the crown was, of course, that calendar with half-naked women posing with cars tugged on her mouth corners. It was hard for her to see her lovely friend to be part of this chaos, thus she talked herself into that he was not (he was).

Penguin put the cans into the refrigerator that stood in the staff room, also filled else with a box of fried noodles and moldy chicken soup; the lunch box of someone else and a water bottle. The guy turned to her with a sheepish smile, excusing the unsavoriness that he and his roommate also secretly hide in front of her at their own apartment. She took it easy with the conviction that you couldn't choose your co-workers, made him laughed insincerely.

As he returned to his work, sitting on the ground to literally sort screws, Quinn took place on a chair in front of him, watching his work. "I didn't know you've got tattoos too," she said in surprise, looking on his, for the first time, exposed forearms. "I thought only Trafalgar and Shachi do."

"Ah, those." He looked at them himself swiftly, telling, "we three actually went together to get them stitched."

"Oh, really? How cool!"

"Yeah, Law had his hands tattooed before, and we somehow got the idea to follow him as he was doing his forearms."

"I see..." Quinn eyed the tribal muster on his arms intently. "That's so cute of you three, it's like friendship tattoos."

He blushed with a slight laugh. "Tell it Law and he won't find it funny at all."

"I imagine tattoos to hurt pretty much, have you got some on your torso as well like him?"

His eyes shifted to her wordless, thinking how shameless Law was to show-off his body in front of any women again. Well, he was actually just... envying him. "Oh yes, they hurt like shit," said he, amused about the memories. "Shach' and I stopped by our arms."

"Hm... I also want a tattoo, something cute maybe," she said, pursing her lips and pondered about a motive.

He grinned. "I warn you, it hurts like hell."

"Oh buddy, I got my heart broken two times, I guess my pain tolerance's high enough," she joked quite boyish, returning his grin with subtle snicker.

"You're right, that's totally the same," he responded, also humorously.

"Uhhh, by the way, can I ask you something more... private?"

"Huh?" Penguin looked at her. "Sure?"

Quinn's eyes drifted to the side and she kneaded her neck with one hand while carrying a smile, suiting her sudden discomfort. "Well... it's more about... _Trafalgar's_ privacy..."

He put the screws in his hand down to give her his full attention. "Okay? Don't get me wrong then when I can't answer, depending on what it is."

"It's nothing big!" she assured, her eyes darted immediately back at him. "Just a little about his... well... love life. Do you know if he had ever been in love before or any sort of feelings like that?"

"Honestly, not that I know," Penguin said. "He was as good as always closed off towards women; you and Judy are the only one I know he spends private time with aside from, you know."

She leaned a little forward, her hands on the sides of the chair next to her legs holding her weight while she thought about it more thoroughly, looking to ground. Law was a total anti-social; he was extremely intelligent when it came to getting what he wanted, even though he was only with a few people really in touch; it was actually a sad fact that he shut out everyone in his life, keeping his good sides for himself. He had them, he had many; she saw that from the moment he had carried drunken Judy voluntarily out of the bar, up into her bed. Quinn knew it was not easy to lead a carefree social life, she had been in that role herself, but the difference though seemed that she wanted friends, and he not. "Don't you think he... needs someone?"

Penguin glared at her in wonder, not grasping her mind.

Smiling a little to ground, she thought about every moment Law was actually in joy of something that involved social interactions. "Well, I mean," said she and looked at the mechanic, "someone who'd give him the care he needs. You know, I'm not a therapist or any psychologist; I can only talk about what I've observed multiple times. I have a group of two graders at school. Each of them had suffered loss of their parents in an early stage of their life or never met them, neither ever received the right care. I think they were that asocial and mistrusting, because of missing love." She laughed a bit, rolling her eyes. "I know, those are just children and not at any stage to find _the_ love."

"There are exceptions," Penguin remarked with a joyful snap and she nodded in agreement, pointing at him with her finger since she liked the thought of a one and only true love, especially since childhood.

"However, but I think there're still parallels. Like they found as a group together, tightened as a squad where they receive genuine love in a friendly way; I think Trafalgar needs the same. The time I had observed that I could see the difference in their eyes!"

"Huuh? Are you saying we're not friends enough to him?" he asked shocked.

"No, you idiot," she replied and rolled her eyes amused. "I mean, when he's able to open up to his friends more, maybe he'll be even happier when he has someone special in his life. You know, the next level."

"I see..." Penguin glared at her without a blink, saying frank- and monotonously, "someone he can trust, who's there for him when he's vulnerable, who gives him the love and care he missed. Everything in the deepest depth of his privacy..."

"Uh..." Quinn glared back with a blank smile, surprised about that great summary. "...Right! Exactly that."

The guy on the floor loosened his neck he had stiffed as he had looked up, looking back to the case of screws and sighed. "You know what Quinn? I actually shouldn't tell you this, but I do because I trust you." He continued to sort them, Quinn listened curiously. "You remember Cecilia?"

"Of course I do, the pineapple lady!"

"The what?" he said, looking at her with a confused smile.

"Uhm, she wore a cute shirt with pineapple prints that day."

He laughed about her odd memory in little unnecessary details and shook his head, carrying on his work. "Well, Law had never much contact with girls when he was younger. He didn't distinguish gender, for him all were equal human beings."

"Wow, he did?" Quinn said with a brow rose, hardly believing it. But when she imagined it properly, it was actually not that improbable that he was either the ultimate sexist and womanizer or the 'I don't give a damn about your gender, you're all the same biological dreg'. If he wasn't out for intercourse, he indeed treated everyone the same.

"Yeah. But after he had slept with Cecilia, his view had changed drastically." Penguin looked back up, settling his chin in his hand while his elbow did on his leg, supporting his head. He sighed out loudly one more. "Cecilia was quite a bitch. She spread her bed story with Law and his request for a second time around until it reached the whole university. Didn't come good for him since he was topic number one then on the campus."

"Whaaat, no waaay! She's not sexy at all anymore that stupid woman!"

Penguin looked at her.

Silence.

"I mean, he was known before too, since he was the youngest bachelor degree holder and about to finish his master."

"Oh yes, he's a total genius..."

Penguin looked at her.

Silence.

He ignored her outspaced reaction and continued with the story. "Well, but he then was the showpiece of a nerdy virgin. Due to his good looks, the girls didn't feel ashamed at all to approach him, trying to witness the rumor with their own eyes. You can imagine, he was pretty making fun of and- hey, wh-why are you crying?!"

Quinn stared at him with big wet puppy eyes, mouth corners sunken deep, sobbing. "When I imagine how he had felt, this makes me soooo sad."

"Aww, Quinn, don't be! He's a strong guy!"

She nodded, trying to get hold of herself until she turned back to normal, straightening confident. "Okay, back to the story!"

Penguin sweat-dropped to her quick mood change and she gave him a thumbs up. "Anyway, there's not much story left. He had slept with many girls from there and well, that's how his view on women developed. They all are branded as objects in his mind, simply due to the fact that they were ready to spread their legs in front of him, only for their entertainment and gossip."

* * *

Because of the air conditioners in the hospital, none of the occupations noticed the slightest of the heat that rampant outside those walls. Law just had released his last patient from the examination room and walked out himself, checking the time on his watch. Again, he had overdrawn when his break actually had already started almost 20 minutes ago; but well, he was used to that anyway. As he walked past the waiting halls all carefree, Law thought his heart would stop for a second as his eyes suddenly caught something rather unwelcome.

Not her again.

In between all the other people, Quinn was sitting on one of the benches, staring on her phone. He only saw her from behind, but she was unmistakable. Annoyed from her presence here, probably looking for him again, Law tried to ignore her and continued his way through the hall like nothing bothered. It were only a few meters he managed to walk before her quirky voice called out for him, "Bread Trafalgar!"

He stopped. His eyes rolled with a deep inhalation before he turned around to her and god, she looked gorgeous in that sundress. Fuck. Still froze with a cold expression, Law asked, "your need, Miss Heady?"

"Wow, did you forget to take your pills again?" she said.

"Pills?" he questioned slowly, his muscle under his right eye already twitching skoshly.

"Those against facial paralysis."

Of course. Some stupid comment. Unamused, he turned again to ignore her joke.

"Oah, just kidding!" Quinn said then and rushed next to him.

"I thought we kinda talked about the reduction of your humor," he said, keeping his pace and look ahead.

" _That's_ exactly why I'm here," she replied with a smiling eye roll, stating it as obvious. She reached inside her bag, pulling out a piece of paper and rolled it open, holding it up for him to look. "See? You haven't signed our contract yet."

Law glanced briefly at it from the corner of his eyes. "I forgot."

Prepared, Quinn also pulled out a ballpen and clicked it open, holding it up as well. "I've thought so, hence you can do it now."

He stopped and turned to her. "You'll be less annoying then?"

"It's practically in the contract," she answered with a shrug, extending the paper and pen.

It was probably the best way to get her out of his life, at least until he would get over his feelings. With lazy eyes he took it, not believing that he was really playing along her stupid game, ready to sign.

Quinn clapped her hands a little in subtle excitement, staring at the paper spot the ball pen was about to touch. "Hehe, when you've signed this, we're officially friends!"

He paused. Her smile faltered and he suddenly handed her back both items that never had contact with each other.

"Huh?"

"I refuse."

She stared at him confused, taking the stuff back automatically. "I'm sorry?"

"To be friends with you," said he and continued his way nonchalant.

Quietly, she stood still and didn't move, looking after him, left behind with both items like an idiot. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait- "What?!" She ran after him and got back to his side. "What do you mean, you refuse to be friends with me?!"

"I _refuse_ to be _friends_ with you," he repeated, a little slower.

"You refuse to be friends with me?!" she queried in disbelief, her brows furrowed in shock.

"You know that I've just said the same sentence again, only in slower."

"You can't refuse to be friends with me after I handed you the contract! We're practically already friends!"

Law took a deep breath, sighing loudly for her to hear. "And you're aware, contracts can be declined?"

"Noooo! Sign!" she insisted and held it closer to his face, stopping his walk.

Annoyed, he gritted his teeth and looked at her. "Geez, I said 'no'. Since when do you care about our relationship anyway?"

She puffed her cheeks, looking madly at him. "Anything wrong with it?! I like you, so I want you to sign the contract!"

Eyes rose open, his blood pressure betrayed him again, coloring his cheeks a little. "Oi, don't tell me _you_ told Penguin to ask me when my break is?"

"Yeah, I did! Sign the contract!"

"No!" he persisted. "By the way, haven't I told you to only look for me in the hospital for professional purposes?!"

Her eyeballs made a round again. "Boy, when you told me that, it was World War II. Sign the contract!"

"Flaw number six - unhealthy amount of stubbornness!"

She rested her hands on her hips, pen and paper still in her hand while she countered, "your flaw number three - _ridiculous_ amount of stubbornness! Sign the contract!"

"I have all rights to decline a contract!"

"Oh, but you take the gift basket and probably already ate from it, right?!"

(He had.)

They happened to stand just a little apart from the door of the staff room Law had aimed anyway, thus his ultimate escape for the time being. Still, with a pink mist over his face, he pulled it open, telling her to go home already.

In huff, Quinn pursed her lips with big blown cheeks while she glared at the door he had disappeared behind. With balled fists, she stiffly walked back to the lobby and halted at the reception, still with a mad face that unsettled and confused the nurse behind the counter. "I'm here to see Dr. Trafalgar after his break, I'm very sick!"

* * *

When Law's break was over, way too soon, but enough to cool him down from the previous encounter, he left the staff room to get back to work. It was just the same feeling he once had before, only much worse. His attraction to that woman bugged him, what he now could figure compared to before since it just developed into something bigger as to be left unnoticed. She and her bubbly personality, and god that outfit today. He couldn't remember to have found women in sundresses not pretty, but that amount was ridiculous. _She's just an annoying, unfuckable child - get over it._

Walking into the examination room to see his next patient, calm and stoic, he only thought about a quick end to get home and fall asleep, completing that day. As he stepped to the doorway, nonchalant with both hands shoved into the pockets of his coat, his eyes saw first... that idiot again. Quinn sat on the examination table, smiling at him cheekily, already awaited the young man. They stared at each other in silence, his lips parted in disbelief half-open until he said, "I have no time for this," straight out and turned to leave.

"But I'm veeeery ill, Doctor!" she claimed and his eyes rolled up in exasperation before he turned back again.

"Oh, here for an echocardiography?" he asked, walking idly inside.

"No-"

"Go home then."

She jumped on her butt, hands around her waist. "You can't just send a patient home without listening once!"

Law leaned down to her face, displeased. "I _won't_ sign that contract."

She stretched her neck up to him. "Sign, the, contract!"

Stepping off, he veered his back to her, saying gruffly, "If you don't have any other complaint, leave the hospital; you're wasting mine and other patient's time."

"Oh, I have else to complain! You haven't apologized yet for the last time you've said that! And here I am now, being so kind and _overlooking_ this, offering you a peace treaty with a gift you already have taken, only to receive your stupid refusal to sign, the, contract!"

He snapped back at her. "Geez, get ou-!"

A nurse got in, staring at the two, who hushed right away as she popped at the corner of their eyes. "Everything alright, Doctor?" asked she, her eyes shifting in turn from Quinn to him.

Inhaling deep but quietly, he looked away with a ghost of a smile, muttering, "yeah..."

The nurse walked to the computer as casual duty.

Quinn cocked her body with an over-friendly smile. "Sooo, thank you for taking your time, Dr. Trafalgar."

"You look pretty fine to me, Miss Heady. I think you can go home now," he responded.

"But Doctor, you haven't listened to my complaints yet," she said in mock-wonder, got him bumping his head against a wall mentally.

The nurse was operating the computer, thus he couldn't help but keeping that stupid act. He breathed out low with his typical face of missing emotions, looking at the girl on the examination table that dangled her legs in the air. "How can I help?"

"I guess I caught a terrible cold," she said and pretended to cough, really bad played, "got in contact with some ill and almost dying, ungrateful quack."

"Almost dying?" he repeated, his right mouth corner twitching lightly up about her exaggerating. "What evil symptoms did that 'quack' have to state that so confident?"

"An extremely high fever beside his hard head so that I have to force him staying in bed because I _care_ for my _friends,"_ she answered with big eyes, her smile now even wider and more sarcastic than before. "Even they are _suckers_."

"And you got the same symptom as that 'sucker' now?"

"I feel it won't be long," said she and noticed the stare of the nurse in the back, made her adding quickly, "and constant coughing!" with her bad played emission of air to calm her confused look at her so that the nurse faced the screen again, noting what she had told.

Looking back up at Law, who held his stoical face with a sinister aura around him, they stared at each other silently. He then pulled out his stethoscope without a word, not leaving their intense eye contact while she kept her provocative smile.

But Quinn's smile showed soon more discomfort as she tilted a little, sensing Law settling down right behind her. "So Miss Heady, you don't mind when I free your back for a moment?" said he, hearing his mocking tone through that neutral question.

"Go ahead, Doctor," she replied, trying to stay calm.

He grabbed the little zipper behind her dress and pulled it slowly down what felt for her like minutes. "Lace suits your well, Miss Heady."

"Can you please not give my undergarment any attention?" she commented, her forced smile changed to a forced grin. "You're not paid for that."

He placed the cold resonator on her back, startling her swiftly with goosebumps. "Don't act like I've never seen you in your bra," he whispered behind her ear.

Quinn shivered, blushing annoyed. "Don't act like I wouldn't mind reporting you to the police for sexual harassment."

"Oh please, I was just speeding that examination," he said. "Assisting my patients, who do hard handling the undressing themselves."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"There are a few of elders or physically and mentally constrained people."

She tightened her fist, blushing even more just by the thought of their last appointment where he had been actually the first guy since long to see her that nude. Her eyes drifted over to the nurse and Quinn paused with a weird smile as that one looked at the two, completely perplexed and insecure about the situation.

"Everything alright?" she asked, maybe not had heard their conversation completely, but felt the tension between the two.

"No," Law replied and withdrew the stethoscope, "Miss Heady, guess your heart still has the very same complaints like months ago." He looked at the nurse. "Can you note that they should give her an appointment for an echocardiography?"

"Of course," she replied and did as he said, got Quinn sucking her lips with a suspense smile while Law zipped her dress back.

"And can you note a referral to a neurologist? I forgot that last time, but she has some serious brain issues that..." he smirked at Quinn as she looked at him getting up again, "aggravated her thinking."

 _You son of a-!_

"Uhh Doctor, I think you confuse me with another patient, it wasn't me," she claimed, still over-friendly, "but that's okay, I know you told me that happens quite often to you."

Noticing the surprise reaction of his colleague as his eye captured it from the side, he increased his smirk at Quinn as she dared to challenge him. "If that's so, I have to apologize, Miss Heady," said he politely, the sarcasm spread on his face.

Quinn looked at him as if she had heard bad, forming with her hand a shell around her ear. "Excuse me, what did you say?"

"I said, I have to apologize," he repeated, a bit roughly the second time.

"Ah, you know, my cold affects my hearing quite bad, I'm not sure if I understand it right," she claimed and pointed to her ears, making a small 'sorry-me-stupid-hehe' laugh. "What's with rice?"

Law gritted his teeth, trying to hold back in attendance of the nurse. "I _a-po-lo-gize_ ," he repeated extra slow.

"Oh, apologize!" she said, nodding as final comprehension. "No biggie, but that's very polite of you!"

"I sent it to the front," said the nurse and prepared to walk out of the room.

"Thanks." Law looked at Quinn. "You can leave as well, the antibiotics I've prescribed you the last time shall be enough."

Quinn jumped from the examination table, keeping her act. "Alright." She walked right behind the nurse, who was leaving but stopped at the doorway, checking after her to see when she would be gone far enough so that she could close the door and stick back to their actual issue.

Alone now, she turned back. "Okay Doc, now sign the contra-" Quinn startled hard, stiffing her whole body as Law stood all of a sudden so close in front of her. She smiled insecurely while her eyes were wandering up to his face. "Wow, you can look really scary close-up."

"Peanut," he said, "you annoy me."

Her smile disappeared and she stared, clueless about his statement, at him. "But I-"

"Go home and don't look for me again."

"B-but I, I really don't wanna anno-" She paused when she noticed that he was somehow way more serious than usual. It was not just his dry and cold way, but more to make her realize he wasn't joking or playing at all this time. Guessing that she had overdone it again, her face dropped to ground, her shoulders slugging, and she slowly reopened the door to leave. "I'm sorry for bothering you again... see you, Doctor..."

She was gone then.

Law sighed and massaged his temples with his left hand. He regretted nothing but saw it as necessary to make her understanding that he didn't want to have her around. Though, it wasn't for his like to made her sad in any way, no in fact, he hated it.

Exhausting.

* * *

In the night of the same day, Judy sneaked out of her room, hearing the murmur of Quinn's voice across the dark hall. She tiptoed closer, listening to her talking on the phone while she held her own cellphone in her hand. Carefully, the woman pressed her ear against her roommate's door, trying to grasp her conversation with Sabo more precisely.

"Okay, don't forget it then! 1st June, so in a few days! And better bring clothes you don't mind getting dirty since Shachi's sure to paint the walls that day."

Quietly, she backwarded to her room and closed the door at which she leaned with her back against, sliding down with her cell phone in her hand as she typed a reply, _"yes, they'll be to 100% there together. Better don't come then."_

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** _Since I'm not paying attention to chapter-length word-wise, I hope you don't mind them getting shorter now and then. The positive thing though: I'm updating faster like that lol._

 _ **Nightmare22** \- Thank you, I'm very happy to hear that readers can see them together without any obvious and heavy-flirting interactions :) And I'm glad to hear positive about Quinn's relationship to Judy now, compared to what was before XD Uhm, Quinn was not necessarily  into it, but she also hadn't minded the kissing but found it rather exciting until her panic attack._

 _ **Mei** \- I'm really glad to hear that the bunch come off as realistic to you, it's really a compliment :)! Welcome to my club, I'm a one-man woman as well hahaha (Law ftw *ahem*). Uhm... "_ _Quinn-trees grow marshmallows after all!" - you got me dying there._ _Thanks again for your review 3_

 _ **Guest** \- I have to thank for reading this :)! Hope you've enjoyed this chapter as well~_


	36. Peanut vs Marshmallow

**36\. Peanut vs. Marshmallow**

Having straight out hot weather conditions only meant that summer was finally 'summer' now. Shachi carried the heavy buckets inside the empty shop, the sunglasses sloping down his nose due to his sweat. Meanwhile, Penguin was sitting on the floor in front of the fan, lifting his T-shirt to let the air cooling his body.

"It's so hot outside, it's nothing compared to here," the redhead said, closing the entrance door with his back before he let down the buckets. "God, this is heavy."

"Oh man, the temperatures are so high and you force us to work," Penguin complained with heavy sigh in the air, flapping his shirt.

"I forced you to nothing!"

As they felt a warm steam soon entering the room again, their heads turned over to check on the person that opened the door, but weren't prepared to jaw-slack over what they saw, any erection were immediately suppressed.

"H-h-hi-hi-hi, Judy...!" Shachi stuttered, louder than intended.

The men pair of eyes couldn't stop drooling over her while their mind painted sparkles all around her body. Entering in tight hot pants and a crop top with thin straps, the brunette stopped and shifted her big sunglasses up, scanning through the room. They thought they melted in her attendance as hot-looking as the weather itself, those long bronze legs and curves getting them a heart attack.

And it was so damn clichéd like in a bad comedy show when she moved her eyes over to them, chewing a bubblegum as she smiled at them slightly with her full lips. "I'm ready."

Dead.

They were dead.

Her first two words killed them.

But soon, hopping up from the floor again after Shachi had overreacted with Penguin, fainted to the floor; the redhead smiled back at her, avoiding staring on her wide chest hardly. "It's nice to see you! I-it's really hot outside, don't you think so?"

"Yeah, it is," she replied, faning herself with her hand. "I'd love to be at the beach now."

The other guy on the floor meanwhile looked back up, small eyes showing clearly his opinion on his mate's question. _Of course she thinks it's hot, Captain Obvious; look at her outfit!_

"I just carried the paint in," Shachi told. "You know where Quinn is?"

"She must be close by with Sabo; texted me ten minutes ago that they are still in the line of some restaurant."

"Oh, Sabo's coming too?! That's great!"

Moving from the spot, a wry smile washed over her face. "Right, the more, the better." Those two were definitely the reason why she wouldn't see Law today.

The three didn't make the small-talk long but exchanged plans on how they planned to handle the renovation of the shop. It would definitely take some time until the place was ready for public, since not only the wall but the floor has to be made, such as the furniture ordered.

"And when do you plan to opening this place?" Judy asked, still scanning with her eyes the raw environment.

"Hm, as soon as possible?" Shachi answered.

"I would say three months," she said then, walking around and eyed every corner, "I think it's best if you keep your current work and back up money before you submit your notice. I mean, after the renovation's done and the goods in place, the real hard part's coming."

"Yeah, I somehow need to get notice..."

"Somehow?" She stepped in front of him and pointed her index finger up against his forehead, "not somehow! Marketing, marketing, marketing my dear redhead."

Shachi flinched and touched his forehead, blushing. "Yes, Ma'am."

The glass door then opened once again, letting another heatwave inside as Quinn and Sabo got in with paper bags from the fast food restaurant nearby. "Hellooo people." She was dressed quite the opposite to her skimpy friend; a baggy T-shirt above light fluttering shorts.

"Hey, finally stuffed?" Penguin said, turning to them with the paintbrush in his hand, when his gaze noted the big bags. "Oh, you bring food here?"

Quinn nodded. "Yeah, I thought those are good snacks when- Ehh? Sabo?!"

As she looked up at the guy beside her, he returned her stare with stuffed cheeks, holding a burger in his hand. "Hm?"

"I gave you that to try it, not to eat it all up!"

Sabo cleared the amount in his mouth with a heavy gulp and breathed out a 'phew' before speaking his excuse, "I'm sorry, but that veggie-burger's really good."

"See, told you," Quinn said proudly.

He handed her the more than half-eaten burger. "Here, you can have it back."

She looked at it and then at Sabo with half-lidded eyes. "Wow, you can keep that bit now," said Quinn and walked inside, putting the one paper bag she was carrying, on the floor in the middle of the room. "You and Luffy are more alike than you think."

Relaxed, he went after her. "Yooo, are you mad of me now?"

"I brought each of you a burger and fries," Quinn told the group as they gathered on the floor, where she took out one burger after another.

"Heeey, don't ignore me," Sabo said from behind.

"Hey, fishburger! You thought of me!" Penguin said in joy as Quinn handed over the one that meant to be for him.

"Yes, for our favorite Penguin," she said, grinning with a peace sign.

While they talked in the group, Sabo was still left behind and looked over her shoulder. "Maaarshmallooow!" She acted like he wasn't there, and so did the group, having small-talk conversations where the young man was excluded as he was trying to gain back Quinn's attention. "Marshmalloooow yo!"

With no fellow reaction, he backed off with a small sigh. His gaze next wandered over to the fries they had brought, which he couldn't resist and therefore reached out for.

She stopped his hand. "This is for later."

Still in her grip, he looked at her face from the side. "You mad at me?"

"Maybe."

"...Sorry."

She let the moment seeped for a few seconds, both quietly on the floor in tandem. Then Quinn returned to smiling and she tilted her body to the guy, who was enclosing her with his legs. Making a face so happy like always when finding him adorable to the extent of squealing, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him to her. "Isn't he cute when he calls me Marshmallow?!"

"Definitely another type of pet name," Shachi said, chewing his burger. "Never hear someone else calling a person after food."

Penguin looked at him. "Law does that all the time."

"He does?"

" _Peanut;_ he calls her _Peanut_ , forgot?"

"Oh right, right, right."

Calm but pretty surprised about that, Sabo said, "he does?"

"Yeah, ever since he knows I'm allergic to them," Quinn replied, balling a tissue she just had used to clean her hand and got up.

Penguin's eyes followed her. "Oh, talking about Law. Could you catch up with him last time?" She didn't respond to his question but kept quiet and threw the trash into the empty paper bag, left him wonder, "Quinn?"

"I could," said she then and walked from the spot. "I think he doesn't like me."

Judy stared at her backside with wry expression, thinking, _you have no idea, gurl._

"What? Why?" Penguin asked, somewhat confused about her statement.

Quinn squatted down in front of the fresh new brushes Shachi had bought and ripped the bag open. "He said I shouldn't look for him again and he doesn't want to be friends with me."

Shachi swallowed his half-chewed food quickly to say, "don't you think Law's just being Law again?"

His mate beside nodded. "Yeah, sounds to me too."

Quinn took a small brush and sighed, saying, "I don't know and honestly, I slowly don't care anymore." She opened a paint bucket, telling flippantly, "he's acting so and so, I dunno what I should think about it, since he doesn't tell me. I'm just trying to be nice and he neither says thank you or sorry."

"I'm sure he does like you as a friend, don't worry!"

"If that's so, cool; if not, well, then I don't wanna bother him anymore."

Sabo scanned her lazy, almost disinterested face, before his gaze made a swift round through the shop. "Isn't he here today?"

"No, he said he got no time," Judy answered it first, playing it casual.

Yes, Quinn was still concerned about it, but she wouldn't know why she should wasting a good day on that guy, thus she perked up her head with a wide smile. "Anyway! Which wall do you want to be white?"

* * *

Law stood in the line of the driving license officer, yawning with his hand covering his mouth as he slowly got tired of waiting. It took much longer than he had expected, and thereby it was only his driver license he wanted back. How long could something like that take?

Waiting nonchalant though, rambling his gaze around the room, he noticed a random guy in the row across, standing behind a short young woman. Well, at least her body told him she was not old; slim, fit and unwrinkled. What piqued his interest was the hand the filthy guy was making, ready to grope her butt cheek. The town was full of perverts, he wasn't sure how often he had witnessed something like that, made it no wonder that Quinn was insecure about any male in her surroundings. Calmly, he decided to stay back and observed the situation, interfere only when necessary.

The guy then dared to grab a full hand of her cheek and the girl in her miniskirt startled up and turned around, slapping all over his face what turned all attention and gazes at them. "Don't dare to touch me again!"

He grinned and rubbed his cheek, acting innocent. "Woah, sweety, I dunno whatcha talkin' bout."

Angry and almost hysteric, she pinched his cheek tightly, and pulled it as far as his skin allowed, hissing, "don't call me sweety, you pervert jerk! I _know_ you've groped me!"

He groaned in pain and she let go so that he jumped back, the other people holding a few steps distance from the scene, watching it in wonder and curiosity. "You bitch! I have no interest in fucking gingers, go and suck dicks and souls!"

Okay, that was pretty racist.

Her hands tightened to fists and were in tension, thus Law noticed that she was definitely holding back a punch or anything like that (how women fought anyway). She turned around and tried to ignore the guy, the ruck murmuring until a security guard dropped by real quick, grabbing the more angry getting man that spat insults like a champion, and dragged him out.

So, no interfere necessary. But honestly, also the courage of all people around was pretty poor; how could they say that _he_ was a bad and mannerless guy?

Anyway, the line Law stood in was so much slower than the one on his left and he sighed annoyed as he compared the tempo of both sides. Great free day. Taking holiday to spend it in the driving license office, just to get a little piece of plastic back. He should have considered the option via mail, but no, he had thought he could save the postpaid when he didn't have to work that day anyway.

It took over an hour until he finally received for what he had gotten there, and relieved and even more tired, Law left the place. _Geez, what a waste of time._

As he turned into a street, his path happened to cross with the guy from before, who suddenly looked more awful than his memory recalled. He had a black eye and wiped his bleeding mouth while he passed him, mumbling, "that fucking c*** really dared to fight me, I shoulda attacked when she wasn't looking..."

Seriously?

"Oi, you." Law grabbed his collar as the guy looked up at him with pissed face, but soon shrunk as his eyes met those threatening gray eyes. "Stop molesting women."

"What da- whadda ya want? Got a problem?" he asked provocatively, though Law's aura got him kind of nervous.

"Yeah, scums like you are my problem," Law said calmly, but in a low intimidating voice, "if I catch you touching any women again, I'll kill you."

The guy wrinkled the bridge of his nose and smirked shamelessly. "Scared for ya girl wha? Bet she's super ugly anyway, suiting ya fuck-face."

Law pulled his collar closer to him and threatened quietly. "You heard my words? If a girl can beat you up, believe me, I can end your life with a squeeze."

"You-"

"A _squeeze_."

Quickly, the guy nodded hectically as he realized his opponent was more serious than he had expected, his vibe scary. "Got it, got it, got it man...!"

* * *

As Quinn stood alone in a corner, framing the pasted up socket with paint, Judy thought it would be a good chance to confront her with more intimate questions. "Can I ask you something?"

While the clueless girl was crouching on the floor, she looked up at her after the quiet approach. "Hm?"

Judy squatted down as well. "Since when do you feel Law and you became friends?"

"Why are you asking?" Quinn wanted to know, staring blankly at her without any second thought or idea what the question was supposed to meant.

"Just curious."

She grinned then and elbowed her friend. "I see, is someone jealouuus? Hehe."

"Quinn."

"Hm I dunno, I really don't," Quinn claimed then, continuing to paint. "I someday just happen to get along with him, ...somehow."

"And it really concerns you that he's ignorant to you, huh?"

"Of course it does. It's the same when you, Penguin or Shachi would be. Whereby," she paused and glanced back at her. "I would cry if you quit our friendship."

Judy wrinkled the gap between her brows a little as she stared into Quinn's smiling face. She was unsure why everything the girl said bothered her in different ways, bringing up mix-feelings.

"Hey, if you think it minds me that you like him, it doesn't."

Uncomprehending, Judy looked at her after the little absence. "What?"

Feeling somewhat awkward, Quinn tilted her head to her shoulder, eyes drifting away with a shy smile. "It did at the beginning, but now I know he got his good sides."

"Oh, what..." Judy quirked skeptically a brow, "convinces you so all of a sudden?"

Quinn turned back to the wall to keep up the work while she said candidly, "he drives people home if needs; he protects and fight for his friends; he surprisingly listens to your problems; protects you from rain; cares for your health." She paused for a titter while her eyes fell into space, thinking about Law more thoroughly. "...Okay, has lots of stupid sides too, but that's just him."

No, it was _her_ problems he listened to; her that he protected from the rain; her he cared for; it was almost unbelievable for Judy to connect any of those traits she had listed to the Law anyone else got to see.

"Judy? Juuudy?"

Judy put on a fake chortle, wiggling her brows at Quinn. "Ohhh, so he isn't Dr. Badittude anymore?"

"I guess that won't change, he's still our grinch," she replied. "I'm just waiting for him to steal Christmas."

"Urgh!" Shachi's groan popped up a few meters farther so that both girls interrupted the conversation and stared at him in wonder. He hung with his arm over the ladder while Sabo stood across with a joyful smirk. "Gosh, you're so strong man!"

"Hey, do you try to battle him again?" Judy shouted over to the redhead.

Amused, Quinn moved over to the bunch. "You forgot; he has beaten a guy, who robs people's consciousness with one hit."

"And he seems not modest about it at all," Shachi commented, pushing the confident guy on his shoulder teasingly.

Sabo did nothing but laughed a bit at it as well while he rubbed his head indeed somewhat sheepishly.

As Shachi's eyes shifted to Penguin to see what he was doing meanwhile, he saw him in tailor fashion on the ground with his cellphone in his hands. "Are you texting Law again?"

"Yep," he said, "he should come over too, I know he's not at work today."

Instantly, Judy got closer to him with big eyes on her nervous face, trying to get them subtly away from the topic. "Hey, he probably got some other issues right now, don't bother him."

Penguin sighed. "Yeah, every message I sent him got a dry 'No.' as reply."

"You- What are you doing, Quinn?"

"Abs," Quinn said frankly as Judy caught her from one moment to the other snugging onto Sabo with a stupid blank smile into nothing.

Sabo looked at the bunch with an excusing smile. "Sorry, she's doing that sometimes."

"That lucky guy..." Penguin mumbled to what Shachi only nodded in agreement. As they moved their faces to check the brunette's reaction, they sweat-dropped by the detection of her curious 'I-wanna-touch-too' face, made them repeating together, "seriously. That lucky guy."

Judy also thought it was kind of relieving to see her at least being able to feel physically attracted to guys beside personality. Definitely a sign for her not belonging to the asexual sort, hence an argument in case she would drama about that topic again. Expecting nothing in the situation then, her phone vibrated in her back pocket and she pulled it out to check the teensy disturbance.

' _Will be there in 10 mins. Clean up.'_

Her eyes widened in surprise, not sure if positively or negatively shocked about the text message she just had received. _What the fuck, Law?!_ Moving her eyes back to the couple, she took a deep breath and put the phone back. "Hey lovebirds, go and get a room," said she and all eyes turned to her.

Not understanding, Quinn blinked at her a few times. "Huh? We're not lovey-do-"

"I think today's a good day for you to spend alone as a couple, so do us all the favor and get your deserved quality time," Judy stated and walked up inbetween the two, starting to shift them away from the wall by their backs.

"Huuuh? But we wanna help too!" Quinn said while Sabo just let the weird moment happen, looking confused and surprised.

"You've helped enough," the brunette claimed and got the two to the door. She slid her hand slightly down Sabo's back and made him freezing with a little blush; saying, "and oh boy, you have a really nice back," before she hit on both's and pushed them out.

"Judy...!" Quinn complained.

Then she pressed one of the paper bags they had brought, into the guy's hand. "Here's your food. So, see ya little birdies!"

"But-but!" The glass door shut in front of their noses, locked, and Quinn tried to reopen it, yelling, "Hey, Judy! Open the door!"

She ignored the shout from outside and turned on her heel to face the room again, only to earn awkward stares from Penguin and Shachi. "Judy...?"

Carefree as if nothing happened, she got back to the brush and continued the work while the gazes of both confused guys stuck on her.

"Okay, what's... go... ing... on?" Shachi broke the silence.

"Oh, I just couldn't stand them lovey-doveying around, got me nausea," she said simple.

The two exchanged confused looks and shrugged their shoulders, unsure how to sort that situation. Tilting their heads to the door, they saw the couple still behind it, Sabo rather waiting until Quinn's grumpiness decrease. Her finger pointed to the lock while her eyes glared fiercely into their uncertain faces.

They didn't even need to comment on it as Judy threatened without ceasing her doing. "Don't dare."

Shrugging again, but this time at Quinn with nervous cheesy smiles, the girl outside gave them only her disbelieving 'what the fuck...' look and stepped back, shaking her head. Then she took Sabo's hand and left, stomping.

"Oh man, you made her hating us," Shachi said.

"Nah, you really gotta set a big poop to made her hating you."

"Hm... sounds logic. Otherwise you two wouldn't be friends anymore I guess."

Judy darted at the redhead with narrowed brows, one hand to her hip. "Hey, do you wanna mess with me?"

He waved frantically parallel to his chest and snickered. "Kidding, kidding!"

The three then carried on with the renovation. Between the short time Law had texted her and would arrive, Judy fought with herself to not being so nervous, though it was unexplainable for her why that senseless feeling was there. They god damn it slept with each other, several times; and still she was in conflict to feel happiness spending time with him, no matter how shallow and small; or to feel ridiculousness, running after a guy that had no interest in her.

"Oi, Law!" Shachi called out as he saw him knocking from outside against the glass. Immediately he opened the door to let the lazy looking guy in, saving him from the heat. "You really came!"

"Got those annoying text messages from Penguin," Law said and walked past him with both hands shoved into his pants.

"You just missed Quinn and Sabo; Judy has let them hit the road a few minutes ago."

"Are you hungry?" Penguin pointed over to the fast food. "Quinn had left us some food there."

Law lifted one hand in decline, eyeing the room and what they already had fabricated. "No, I'm fine, thanks."

Back then, his sexual attraction to her was validation enough, but the more she watched him and her girl friend, the more she wanted to become a person for him too. Sometimes she felt like being the only one in the group he did not care for. He was great friends with Penguin and Shachi, and he liked Quinn. Judy looked down and sighed quietly, a subtle laugh escaping from her. Yes, she felt ridiculous. She was basically nothing but a good way to compensate his feelings; she didn't even know what attracted her so much to him, it almost felt like a celebrity crush. Impersonal and unreachable.

...

Working quietly on her own while the bunch were tight to a conversation, Judy glanced occasionally over to Law, even just unconsciously. She tensed her lips as he parted from his two companions to work on another spot, seeing it as the perfect moment for her to approach him. Slowly, getting over to the guy on the ladder, she thought he looked incredibly hot only with a tank top on, doing that craft while the small sweat drops ran from his temples. _Fuck, this guy._

"That was pretty tight of you to text me that late," said she and Law's eyes drifted down to her.

"Yeah. I decided that spontaneously when I knew I would pass here anyway. Had to get my driver license back before," he said.

"I see." Actually, Judy would love to hold that conversation, but her sudden small talk skills seemed to had disappeared, left her standing silent. But she supposed trying was senseless anyway, thus didn't mourn after it.

And so her quick acceptance caused surprise as he said all of a sudden, "I have to thank you."

A slight pink drew across her cheeks, but didn't stop her trying to play it down. "Thanking for what?"

Law turned back to the wall. "For reacting well to my message."

That was the first time in forever she had heard him saying something so sincere. She tried to overcome her unfamiliar shyness with a smile, rolling her eyes as if it was nothing. "I told you I'd help." It would be a lie though to claim she would not want him to stop developing any attraction to Quinn; not because she was a taken girl and it wrong to let that happen but simply because it felt like slaps in her face any time she saw him drawn to her.

"My thanks."

Again, his words made her waver. She felt happy about it yet wish he would stop, carrying on his ignorance at her.

The shop door suddenly opened one more, letting the heat inside with a returned quirky sound, "hello people!"

Law winced, suddenly stiffened with gritted teeth.

"Huh, what are you doing here again?" Penguin asked surprised as Quinn and Sabo stood back in place.

"I don't know why Judy was a bitch, but we came back with ice cream!" Quinn said and lifted the wrapped paper tray with four tubs inside whereas Sabo was already eating his ice cream in a cone.

But Quinn's upturned mouth lowered soon as she spotted Law on the ladder.

"He just happened to be around," Judy told as that soundless surprise flew across the room, making everyone noticing it on instant.

"Oh, uh... I didn't know, so I haven't bought some for you...," the girl said and looked down to her feet. As she hadn't expected him here, she felt unsure how to react accordingly. "Uhm... if you want, you can have mine..."

"I'm fine," Law responded dryly, not bothering to give her further attention.

Quinn bit her lower lip, filling her lungs fully while she kept her gaze to the ground, trying not to overreact to his response.

"Ah Quinn, this is sooo kind of you!" Penguin said right away as the tension in the air hit them straight in their innocent faces, and he ran up to her and took over the paper tray.

Shachi joined him, trying to lift the mood as well. "Woooh, ice cream break!"

It helped to smile, and she got on her knees to accompany the two on the floor, who eagerly unwrapped the tray for the content. "It's really hot outside, hope it didn't melt too much."

Meanwhile, as the group was chatting in the back, Judy looked into Law's slightly frowning face. "You wanna ignore her now?"

"I don't know, I can't run now" he said, "so perhaps."

As much as she wanted to support his decision to stay away from her, she couldn't help but smiled about it, since she was familiar with such behavior. "That's a little childish, don't you think so?"

Law's brows narrowed to her statement.

She gasped out some light chuckle before her legs brought her to the others. "Hey, did you got me mint?"

"I shouldn't have gotten you anything, but yeah, yes, I did," Quinn said.

"Thank you, you're the best," Judy singsang and grabbed the tub with the green ice cream. As she began to eat, her attention moved to the redhead. "Hey Shachi."

"Hm?"

"The pony tail suits you, you should wear it more often."

He blushed. "This-this-this...! Yeah, it's, uhh, pretty hot with the long hair, and, yeah, you know, I mean, y-you have a bun yourself! Looks gorgeous by the way! Thank you!"

"Oh geez, you just sound like Quinn. Cool down, boy." Judy then looked to the blonde guy. "Heeey Sabo, what about a little ponytail too? Your hair's long enough I guess."

That guy grabbed a hair strain and looked at it. "Hm, never thought of it."

While the three slid into a conversation about hair cuts and style, Penguin moved closer to Quinn, who was eating her ice cream quietly, staring into space. "Hey," said he tenderly and gained her attention. "Don't you wanna talk to him?"

Quinn looked back down with the tiny spoon between her pouting lips. "I dunno..."

"I see no reason for him to dislike you, you're a pretty great friend," Penguin stated with a smile, enjoying from his tub as well after he had gotten more comfortable next to her.

"Hm, am I?" Quinn asked, her tone sounding more sarcastic and disinterested.

"Of course you are, and you know it! I mean, you're so concerned about his well that you even broke your mind about it and tried to find a solution!"

She sighed and cocked a little, saying, "I know I am," before her voice raised to made it clearly hearable across the room, "but some people just don't appreciate it!"

Still facing the wall while he painted along the ceiling, Law rolled his eyed up about her comment and struggled to not react openly to it. He didn't feel like talking to her at this moment and thought it to be good that she would turn bitchy or something alike to made it a big turn-off. It might be childish, but he just didn't know else to do. It was just extremely annoying that they shared the same social circle, forced him to be around her. If it wasn't for _helping_ Shachi, he wouldn't have come. Lending a hand another day would be an option, the redhead would understand when he tells he's too busy; but he was convinced that she would be _always_ present that it wouldn't matter which day he would drop by.

Unfortunately, his ears were all open, thus he heard almost every single word that any of them spoke. And his grip around the brush tightened in utmost annoyance when _she_ talked; especially either _about_ or _with_ her boyfriend.

Well, it _almost_ wouldn't matter when he would show up.

Couldn't he just at least made another one-hour-phone-call-trip again? It was definitely the wrong decision to show up _today_... He suddenly only heard Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabo- GOD DAM-

"Hey Doc." Law paused for a moment as Quinn's appearance next to him surprised. She stood with a painting roll and faced the wall as well, her voice low, "I'm sorry for have bothering you with the stupid contract last time. I now understand it was ridiculous to persist on something like that... guess you think I acted like a stupid child."

Trying to avoid to look at her, he only replied, "it's okay."

"Can I ask you something?" Quinn then looked at him. "You don't like me, right?"

"I don't know what made you thinking that," he said with raspy voice, the spot between his brows slightly tensed.

Her eyes abruptly widened. "Sooo, you do like me?!"

Law swallowed up by that question, holding his cough. His cheeks turned red really fast and he frowned, still avoiding her face. "Work."

"So do you?!" Quinn asked one more, hysterically.

"Work!" He HATE blushing.

She started to smile in huge relief as he didn't say 'no', sure about him being just too proud to say 'yes'. "I was very sad when you said you don't wanna be friends with me and that I should go away; I really thought you hate me or something."

 _Now it starts_.

"I was trying not to mind it, but somehow I couldn't get over it. I mean, you're really not that bad! But why am I telling you over again, you know it."

 _Shut up..._

"Ouh man, now I feel bad that I haven't brought you ice cream too, I hope you don't feel excluded or forgotten. I would never forget one of my friends!"

 _God damn it, shut up_!

"What's your favorite flavor anyway? I love that smurf one and strawberry! And mango! But actually only because the colors look so cute as scoops, whereby... all colors look cute! I wish there'd be a marshmallow flavored one. You know what? I think you're the vanilla type!"

"Peanut," he stopped her, and she stared at him quietly, innocent as ever. "Work."

She grinned and turned to the wall again. "Aye aye, Captain."

Her mood just went from one to ten in a shot, he hated himself for finding it... cute. And now she stayed on the spot next to him, exhausting his mind even more in her big peanut shell colored T-shirt. Was that shitty piece of cloth on purpose?

As she was moving the painting roll peacefully over the surface, Law noticed the open lace on her shoe. Just as he had opened his mouth to call "Peanut," simultaneously to it, "Marshmallow," sounded from behind.

Quinn looked at him and then turned her gaze to Sabo who just walked up. The two guys stared quietly at each other, apparently waiting for the other to go first, what took longer than necessary so that Quinn pointed her eyes to both in turn a few times, clueless. "Huh?"

"Your lace's open," both said then, again in perfect synchronicity.

She looked down to her shoe and crouched to retie it. "Oh, thank you. Didn't see it, oops."

"Your fingers are full with paint," Sabo remarked, pretty casual in contrary to Law, who tightened the bridge of his nose and left the spot quietly.

Since she turned to Sabo after straightening again, she didn't seem to care, let alone notice it anyway, but giggled in his presence. "I'm used to that."

Law just questioned again his decision to come. Actually, he had many questions to himself like why was he making such a fuzz out of it? Why couldn't he be cool about it like to begin with? Why did it bother him so much that she was with another guy when he had no interest in relationships anyway? Was he perhaps... stupid?

...

Time passed with occasion breaks and jokes; melting in front of the fan; and ridiculous yearn for snow.

"Dude, when you wail like that you make me feel hotter," Penguin complained.

"You made _me_ feel hotter," Shachi replied, lying on his back.

"You two sound so gay," Judy commented from the side while she was flicking through some random advertising magazine that they used as underlay.

"Hey Shachi, is the toilet working here?" Sabo asked.

"It should," he answered and raised his arm, pointing with his finger at the restroom's direction in the small hall while not moving any other muscle, 'just try the flush."

As Sabo left for it, Quinn's eyes followed him and looked suddenly more determined. She waited until he would finish, to approach him later in private. Maybe there had been plenty of moments she could have talked to him about the time she had freaked out, but Quinn was always worried that things could go wrong within the lovely quality time they spent together, only the two of them, scared to shatter the mood unnecessarily. Since they were with the group now, it _couldn't_ turn into some unwanted result (she guessed).

As Sabo opened the door in the small hallway after he was done, Quinn was standing in front of it and looked up at him, her insecure expression not overlookable. "Can I talk to you?"

Surprised, he stepped backwards as she walked inside the restroom and closed the door quietly behind her back. "What's up?"

"I know the moment is weird, especially here in this raw bathroom," Quinn began and leaned against the door, staring to the side. Somehow it was embarrassing to bring that topic up, more than she had thought; but if she had managed talking to one guy, she would be able to handle this as well. "It's because of last time... last time in your room..."

"I apologize for that," Sabo said without delay, "I've caught you a little off-guard that day, I don't know what was wrong with me."

"No-no! You did nothing wrong!" she stated somewhat panicky, looking back at him, "the moment was right and-and-and you're a really good kisser for an actually-always-single-guy! I mean, uhm, I've _been_ in a relationship before, but means nothing. I guess I'm not good myself, I mean I don't think I'm bad, I mean I think I'm passable, I mean, no, it's- You're all good! Don't worry...!"

Sabo looked away with half-lidded eyes, scratching his cheek with his finger while a little wry smile washed over his face. "At least something I did right, huh?"

"No, it's just..." Quinn tried not to blush but soon her cheeks turned little rosy as she told, "I just got a little panic attack when I felt your hand to my skin..."

His brows furrowed, uncertain about her statement and so Quinn began to tell him about her bad experiences she had made before. She told everything about her past relationship and didn't want him to be excluded from any depressive information. From all people, he was the one to deserve her privacy the most, hell he _had_ to know about it if she wanted their relationship to work. "I dunno, I did anything for him, because he had said if I don't I wouldn't really like him and so on... Somehow, I was just scared that you would say the same. So yeah, you see... maybe it's just a little trauma and- Sabo?"

Unexpectedly, it seemed to hit him more than she had thought. "I'm so sorry, Quinn."

"Huh, no you don't have to be sorry!" she said, "not your fault!"

He covered his forehead in his hand, acting like he _had_ done something extremely wrong though _she_ was convinced from the opposite. "God..."

Carefully, she stepped up to him, trying to have a look on his face. "Sabo...?"

"Quinn, I-" he looked down into her worried face, his brows turned to guilt. "Listen," said he and lay his hands on her shoulders, "I never meant to trigger you, and don't think of me as someone who has the urge and desire to sleep-"

"Kiss me." Perplexed he glared at her as she interrupted his sentence, Quinn lifting slightly on her toes. Her mouth corners quirked up to a pity smile as she touched both his hands, tightening the squeeze while leading them slowly down from her. "Don't say anything, just kiss me. Please."

The last word was almost begging... "Quinn, I-"

She kissed him. And he returned it.

Whatever he had to say, she didn't want to hear it; she was afraid she wouldn't like it, so she played down the suspension. Quinn was not ready for relationship problems, until now she had been trying to overlook any strange behavior; that he was constantly absence in his mind; talked in broken sentences, never clear; probably struggling with any issue inside him that he didn't want to speak out yet; he always acted mysterious that she had the worry he could end their relationship any time without even talking about it first. Maybe it wasn't love now, she was well aware of it, but love could only happen if you gave it the time and chance to happen, and she was so sure to invest her energy into him. She liked him, she liked him very much. He was not perfect, no one was, as much as he did resemble her image of the perfect guy; but he gave her something no other guy had before. He made her feel being taken seriously.

As their lips parted, she smiled at him, her eyes turned to pathetic hope while he glared at her speechless, unsure what to say. Quinn didn't know how much _he_ liked her, but she was sure, enough to choose her as his girlfriend. It must have been only his insecurity about committing while he was so devoted into his work, and Quinn wanted to be the girl to take that insecurity away, showing him that she was trustworthy no matter what.

"Sabo, I just want you to give me a chance," she said. "I know I sometimes can be annoying and immature, and that you're a very busy person; but-but, we will handle that!"

He put his hand around her face, his thumbs caressing her cheeks. "Quinn..."

"I like you! And I want to keep doing that..."

"You know I do too..."

She looked deeply into his eyes. "I don't know, do you?"

Sabo kept quiet, returning the interlock while she smiled at him, waiting for an answer. The hope spread from her eyes over her whole body language, he could swear he sensed the subtle tremble. Slowly, he pulled his hands back, stopping her heart for a moment, when he suddenly embraced her tightly in his arms. "When I asked you out, I didn't choose randomly."

When had there ever been a guy that was interested in her without sexualizing her in any way? All the stares; the eyeing; the blushes; the flirts; the _fast_ _attempts;_ Quinn was so sick if it. She was sick of being seen as the dumb blonde bombshell after being on several dates with guys that had seemed nice first. The nicest had been always the worst because, faking for taking. Sabo found her funny; he liked her jokes, though sometimes lame; he enjoyed her babbling, found it even cute; he didn't want to bed her immediately; he had called her... wonderful and didn't mean the outside. How could she forgo?

* * *

"You jealous?" Judy asked as she got back to Law. He swiftly side-glanced her before ignoring her question completely. With a heavy sigh, she folded her arms and slumped against the unpainted part of the wall he was standing next to. "I know this feeling of jealousy too well; and now those two disappeared behind a door together in that little bathroom, what might just happening there?"

Law stopped his work and looked at her. "Are you provoking me?"

She smiled slyly. "I'm just speaking out your thoughts."

He then continued to work, telling, "she was looking for me in the hospital; annoying as ever."

"I know, we've just talked about it. That's her, head so hard like a stone."

"Wherever I go, she pops up everywhere like a curse." He sounded exhausted about the thought. "Just like today."

"Hey, it's just a crush," Judy said, "you make a whale out of it."

Law's eyes soon drifted into space as he thought about it, a quiet "maybe I do," leaving his mouth.

Just a crush...

* * *

 _ **Mei** \- There are days I got more time and perfectly more motivation/inspiration to work on a chapter XD Thanks for your lovely review as always :3_

 _ **Guest** \- You're a very attentive reader, like that. And I also really liked reading all the questions that gathered in your mind :D My thanks to  you for reading and reviewing this!_

 _ **KagomeUchiha101** \- Just dropping a 'thank you' here too :)_

 _ **Yakimeni** \- I'm very glad you like my interpretation of Law. Don't know what you mean by the characters being different though, but 'cool' sounds good, so thank you! And yeah, don't stress yourself hahaha, just enjoy it._


	37. Your life, your choices

**37\. Your life, your choices**

The Saturday late morning was mild in its volume, no one but Quinn ghosted around the apartment. She showered; got dressed; had breakfast; everything to prepare for the day. Judy meanwhile was still lying under the blanket, to her friend's relief, alone.

Actually, she would mind other guys' company but Law. It's been three months that she hadn't seen another handsome face crawling out of her friend's room, and she wasn't sure how much she should like it. Either Judy would end up disappointed from Law's emotional rejection, or he was the beginning of something great. Great definitely meant making that woman sleeping less around or if not better, quit it completely.

Anyway, her life - her choices.

Quinn finished her smoothie and leaned back, staring up to the ceiling. Today felt somewhat... different. It was so calm and peaceful right then that she doubt this atmosphere to stay any longer. Perhaps she was wrong and Judy wasn't alone, hence she'd step out her room any moment now in her rosé morning coat; and maybe ten minutes later Law would accompany them, boldly topless.

She smiled, silently amused about the thought while the ticking of the clock in the hallway filled the room.

Back then, Law had been a weird stranger; and now he was a weird friend. Time flew by so fast, she couldn't even realize that it's been over three months, almost four now, that they knew each other, Shachi and Penguin coming along later. Judy had been her only friend she spent quality time with, it was a wonderful feeling to know she could rely on more than one person now. Even though some sometimes behaved odd and annoying.

"Dr. Law Trafalgar...," she mumbled into space, rocking her chair backward and forward. "Trafalgar..., ...Law. Laaaaw." She started to repeat his firstname in every possible intonation, "Laaaaw. Law! Lolololow. Laaawndry. Laaawbster. Lawcker," until a giggle escaped her and she started to like his name so that she couldn't stop with the puns, "Lawf of bread, Lawst, La- Urgh!"

Lying on the ground as she had fallen with her chair, Quinn sighed and stayed in her last position on the back. She stared against the ceiling, arms spread while one leg still hung over her chair, talking to herself, "what does Law do when he needs help? - He calls his Lawyer." As unfunny as she actually found it, she giggled a little again, only for the fact it was about him.

Not long and she pulled out her cellphone to make a distracting call. It rang repeatedly as no one on the other line answered but the answering machine that offered to leave a message.

"Saboooo, hope you're alright and prepared for today; I'm looking forward to seeing you later, Sabobobo," she spoke before putting the device away. After, her gaze shifted up to a letter she had left on the table as the corner of it glanced over the edge, made Quinn thoughtful. She stared at it and remained silent for a while before straightening back on two feet. _It's too late anyway._

...

Judy was awake in her bed, the clock striking hours still too early for her at weekend. When she heard her roommate leaving the apartment, she smiled and mumbled, "good luck," and threw the blanket over her head to carry on her sleep.

* * *

It was fuller than expected as Quinn gathered with other strangers in front of the city hall, ready for the Q&A of the Revolutionaries. Many unknown faces passed her, searching for a good place in front of the stage. The press was of course at the forefront, other professional critics behind and people with serious interest close by. Quinn knew none of the people there, not even any random bystander so that she regret not to have asked anyone to come with her.

Well, Law was working and probably not interested; Shachi and Penguin seemed busy too; and Judy was plainly too lazy.

Feeling a little left alone, she hoped that Sabo would appear anytime soon to pick her up. Her previous call hadn't been answered yet, thus she was holding her phone in her hand in any case he would call. About an hour was left until the opening would start, so Quinn only stood somewhere at the side, close to the stage to wait.

There was not much to think about except for her wondering what negative responses that organization could get. All in all their goals were for the good.

Chilling with no company, it took not that long to hear some female voice right in the crowd, which she couldn't identify first, calling her name. "Quinn, is that you?" the person asked one more, getting close enough so that she could figure the direction.

As she looked out to her right, two pairs of big blue eyes glared at her, and soon a big smile grew on her face. "Whaa, Koala?!"

"Oh my god, what are you doing here?!" Koala asked in equal joy, both then hugging each other, Quinn almost squealing of happiness running into that short ginger again. "It's been such a while, I'm so glad to see you again!"

Letting go of each other, Quinn nodded agreeing, the smile disappearing only slowly. "How are you? You're here for the event too?"

"Of course, I'm working here," Koala told.

"Working?"

"I'm part of the Revolutionaries."

Hearing that, Quinn's face fell in huge shock and excitement. "Whaaat? Really?! That's freaking cool, I didn't know!"

Koala giggled a little. "Well, how should you?"

"Ouh maaan, I'm so happy to see you again! Kinda missed you."

"Oh really? Me too!" said Koala and gave her another cheerful swift and tight squeeze, which also enclosed Quinn's arm while her shoulders quirked up as she stiffened by the strength.

"Urgh! Still strong grip!"

"What are _you_ doing here by the way? Interest in our work?"

"Of course!" Quinn raised a cheeky thumbs up, swinging her arm in front of her chest. "I've been donating to you guys for two months now."

Koala smiled. "Ah, that's nice, thank you."

"And yeah, also just dropped by because, well, promised my boyfriend to come; he works here too."

"Ohh, your boyfriend works for us?!" Now it was the other girl showing surprise, eagerly asking for more information, "hey, what's his name? I guess I should know everyone here today!"

"Sabo."

Quinn knew many people that cut perception and words quickly, but no one went ever from high to low, if not even dead silent, like the person in front of her. The pair of eyes were still locked, but Koala appeared all of a sudden so absent-minded. "Koala?"

The girl shook her head a little to snap back to present. "You don't mean that blonde tall guy with the scar on his left and-"

"Uhh yeah, him! Hasn't he got a high position?" She assumed that her reaction might be caused by that, since dating someone like him wasn't casual.

"H-he does! Of course he does, and if not, I still know him very well. I mean, I'm his close colleague, uh assistant," Koala stated calmly, pulling another shock-reaction out of Quinn.

" _You_ are his assistant?!" The world was so much smaller than she had thought, or at least this place, since coincidences piled up one on another. "He had mentioned you swiftly now and then."

"Huuh, did he say something weird?" Quinn shook her head to the question and Koala took a deep breath, laughing to ground and seemed a little perplexed. "But wow, I didn't know that he got a girlfriend here."

From her reaction, Quinn thought to have found confirmation to her assumption that Sabo was just not the kind to date openly, his work being rather the one to receive his time. Quinn looked to ground as well and poked her own cheek with a shy smile. "Not that long, ...tehe. We're dating for almost two months now."

"That's great..." Koala said, somewhat in mumble before she cheerfully placed her hands on her hips, saying, "I'm happy for you two, congratulations! Wow, and I thought he'll never ever get in touch with a girl, that surprises me! By the way, where's he now anyway? Haven't seen him today."

As she pulled her phone out, Quinn asked, "you give him a call?"

"Yeah." She drew the device to her ear. Anxiously the blonde watched her, wondering if he was still busy to not answering, and as it took a little longer, she even got worried that anything could've happened to him. But he answered. "Hello? Sabo? Where are you now?" Koala wanted to know. Quinn smiled, glad that he seemed fine and made her waiting calm and relieved on the side, when Koala suddenly got a bit furious, "what do you mean you're home? The opening starts in an hour."

Quinn blinked at her confused with an awkward smile.

"You gotta be kidding me, right?! You can't just set other priorities that CAN wait! You- Sabo? Hey, Sabo?!"

Abruptly, Koala silented, worried and insecure Quinn. "Koala...?"

"WHAT IS THIS?! WHY IS HE JUST HANGING UP AGAIN WITHIN MY SENTENCE, THAT SELFISH JERK?!" she exploded out of the blue. "God, when I see him!"

"Ko-a-la...?" Quinn repeated with intimidation as she boiled like a wild offended cat.

"I'm sorry," Koala said after calming down fast, face palming, 'he's sometimes sooo irresponsible."

"What is he doing right now?"

"He's with his little brother, and I don't know what happened, but I'll get there now!" A little angry, but confident, Koala walked from the spot as she pulled out her keys to the car.

"Oh, you mind when I go with you?" Quinn asked.

She smiled and shook her head. "Uh, of course not."

...

"This car's just rented, so don't mind the low quality."

"It's alright; as long as it works," said Quinn as both sat in the small vehicle, looking outside when they drove off. She couldn't remember exactly what it was like to have a ride in Law's fancy car, but definitely smoother than this cheap one; though, she couldn't care less about its quality and enjoyed any car ride.

"Last time I stood in line at the driving license office to get a credential, can you believe there was a guy just groping me?"

"Eww," Quinn replied, disgusted, "sorry, this town's full of jerks. What've you done then?"

"I slapped him, but didn't want to make any more trouble," she told and half-lidded her eyes, displeased as she added, "but he dared to attack me afterwards when I was alone."

"Oh what?! Were you alright?!"

"Don't worry, I could show him who got the pants on."

"Woah!" Quinn looked at her in astonishment and joked, "and thereby I never see you wearing some!" Recalling the times they had run into each other, Quinn could only remember her in short skirts; but well, with such long legs...

A giggle left Koala. "Hey, you know what I mean."

"Noticed that this sounds like you run around in underwear at your bottom half?" Quinn remarked, but soon furrowed her brows about her own statement, "oh well, and this sounds like you're usually not wearing underwear... I hope you do." She leaned back and put her finger to her lips as when pondering. "Hm... I like female undergarment, they can be so cute! I have so many, I don't think I even wear them all, but whenever I see something cute, I can't resist buying it, especially in sale. Sometimes I think I'm the only one that doesn't see anything sexual in them, like Judy - she's my best friend - always teases me when I buy sets with strapes, but it's sooo cute! And I can't help when it's in the set. I guess I'm an undergarment collector like other women collect shoes he-he... sounds weird. But not those super fetish ones...! Only what you get in normal shops. Oh, I also like those with prints, like uhm, polka dots or cute animal prints, am I childish? I am, right? Hey, I even got one with koala bears! Judy calls them period panties, but they are super comfy and not that bad looking. Yap! Those are cute sporty hipsters!"

"Quinn?" Koala interrupted her calmly without bothering to comment on her babble, "can I ask you something?"

She looked at her. "Why people always have to introduce their question like that? It's not like I'll say 'no'."

Koala tittered and corrected, "okay, then 'I will ask you something'."

"Approved!"

"You could've answered like that with my first version too?"

"I know."

She then laughed a little with confusion. "...okay?"

Quinn stuck out her tongue with a sassy grin. "Just kidding, go on."

Feeling a bit uncomfortable with the topic change, she asked, "where do you know Sabo?"

"Uhh, I'm his little brother's teacher," she got as response, "but I met him in the hospital before too."

"I see... And how is it going? Is he a good boyfriend?"

Quinn's eyes moved up as she thought about the question. "Hm... I think he's somewhat unfamiliar with it, since it's his first relationship, but he's doing a good job though. He's really sweet!" She smiled back at the driver. "Even he's sometimes too much into his work, but I can understand that you guys are busy."

"And though he's now sitting at home with Luffy, huh?" Koala said with a raised brow and half-lidded eyes.

"Guess family, what?" Quinn commented.

"Yeah, he can be very emotional, I sometimes don't know how to handle that guy."

"But isn't that sweet?"

Wondrous and unsure about her statement, Koala swiftly looked at her.

"I mean, that he's caring for Luffy that much." Quinn leaned her head against the window and stared into the sky with a small smiling expression. "I like men that are good with children, prioritizing their family. I love it when he's so protective over Luffy, despite that they're not even blood related. And I imagine him to be a good father in the future." She thought this must have been his best character trait, she couldn't get enough from the big brother vibe he showed her any time Luffy was around. Then she blushed and immediately darted back to Koala. "I-I-I mean, in general! Not father of _my_ children! Ouh god, that thought would be way too early! Waaaay too! And I didn't mean to say it's good that he disregards his duty if there's no emergency! What right do I have to say something like that!"

Koala gave her a soft smile. "Don't panic, it's alri- oh, there he is!"

Spotting the searched guy from afar as he walked out the house, Koala soon found a parking spot a few meters farther across.

"Uhh, I guess I'm waiting here while you get him?" Quinn suggested as she unfastened her seat belt just as Koala did.

"Alright, I'll hurry up." She left the car, crossed the street to ran after the young man. "Sabo!"

Sabo turned his head as he heard Koala. "What are you doing here?" asked he when she halted next to him.

"What do you mean what I'm doing here? I came to pick you up," she said nonchalant.

"You can go without me, I catch up later," was his response in same calmness, and he continued to walk the way he had decided before she had interfered.

"What?" Koala's eyes depicted confusion as he had turned his back to her, leaving. "Heeey! Where are you going?"

"I've got things to do," he told, while he heard her stumbling right behind him.

"You got things to do in front of the city hall in less than an hour," she reminded, "come with me!"

He on the other hand didn't even bother to stop but kept his walk. "No, I can't."

"Excuse me?!"

"Don't worry, I'll be there later."

"What?!" she repeated, this time shook about his statement. "We're missing the rehearsal right now! What's so more important anyway?!"

He stopped and tilted back to the girl, his attitude shamefully carefree about the things she was telling him. "I have to teach some guy some manners, don't worry, I'll be right back."

It was always the same with him. Now that he was back in town, back to his family, he was prioritizing them again in pointless context, making it hard for Koala to manage him and the time schedule. Of course she understood his love to his brothers, but his unnecessary vulgar way to deal with things got her annoyed pretty quick. "SAH-BOH!" Koala pinched his cheeks tightly and started to complain with the same content of many times, over and over again, "I said you can't just set some other priorities that only got to do with your self-interest! And why do you never tell anyone about it before you do anything?! Stop being so selfish and get into my car now! GO!"

"Nah!" he replied simple, staring down at the girl, but didn't move a muscle to her painful treat. "Let me!"

"You idiot! You can't be late!"

"But those guys were messing with my little brother! What bastards bully a child?!"

"You can teach him later!"

"Nah! They'll get away, see you later!" He pulled against her pinch and she let go, only to see him walking away like announced.

Koala puffed her cheeks in annoyance, grabbing his arm to stop him. "No, you come with me!"

He gritted his teeth and looked at her. "Why do you always disturb my business?"

"Your business?!" She pointed her finger to his chest, complaining on her toes into his face, "I don't wanna run around every time just to see if you're alright, that's not part of my job!"

Sabo sank his mouth corners, knowing that she was right with her words, but his stubbornness made him arguing against her, "I told you I'll be right back, if I don't go _now_ , I'll miss them and-"

He paused.

Behind his colleague, Quinn stepped closer with wondrous look about the issue the two begat after watching it from the car. "Everything alright?" She looked into his face, frozen all of a sudden as he perceived her unexpected attendance. Yes, Quinn had expected him to be surprise; but not like this that made him staring silently at her like she did something wrong.

Koala pushed her finger against his chest one more. "Right, I met your girlfriend, see, she's waiting for you!"

His gaze shifted briefly down to the short girl and back to Quinn, seeming pretty confuse about the situation.

She smiled a little and pointed her head swiftly to Koala. "Uhm, we've met before."

Calmly, Sabo straightened, Koala looking at the quiet guy. "Hey Sabo, this isn't funny, let's get back to together."

"No, I said I'll come later," he replied and turned away from her. "Don't worry, I'll be back on time. Promised."

"Bu-"

He ran off. "Don't wait for me!"

His quick change in behavior wasn't left unnoticed and the two stared after him as he disappeared in speed tempo, Koala wondering, "what's wrong with him?"

Quinn smiled wryly and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, isn't he always like that..."

Knowing that there was no point in following him, trying to get him with her any further, Koala checked the time on her phone and went with the decision to trust him. She sighed and began to head back to the car. "Whatever... come, let's get back. At least I shouldn't be late."

Following her, Quinn looked one more over her shoulder into the direction Sabo had disappeared. She didn't want to seem paranoid or alike, but his behavior didn't contribute to her well, and again she was left with the thought if she had done anything wrong that he would even ignore her like this, making the interaction quite poor. All in all, he called her his girlfriend, and she guessed, though to some priorities, that was not how their relationship supposed to work. But well, Sabo was... just Sabo again.

Koala breathed out some exhaustion, getting with her back into the car. "I really have no energy for this, he's such an idiot."

"Well, I hate it when he's so secretive," Quinn joked, fastening her seat belt.

"Secretive?" Koala repeated and joked back "That's not a good base for a boyfriend."

Quinn scratched her cheek softly with a sheepish smile. "Well, beside this, he _is_ a good boyfriend... really."

"Ahh, sorry, I didn't say to offend you!" she noted. "But hm..., he's usually not the type to hold secrets. I wouldn't even know what secrets those should be," she said then, and added mumbling, "unless he's holding secrets in front of me as well."

She looked at Koala, saying no word.

He was not?

...

After the two were back, things on that day went smooth without any problems. In the end, Quinn had expected to be alone there and could only watch Sabo, who had arrived indeed right in time, and his colleagues on stage, but she enjoyed it pretty much. It was the first time for her seeing him holding such discussions in some kind of way and his attitude was surprisingly varied. He sometimes seemed really innocent and friendly; then dead-serious; and sometimes he had some sassy backfire, smirking almost like Law, if not scarier. She liked all sides of him though, even the little kinky devil she could read from his expression, so Quinn smiled much during the day.

...

"Oh Quinn!" Koala asked as she sighted the blonde girl getting to the backstage entrance after the event. "And? How did you find it?"

"That was great, you guys did an awesome job," she answered, stopping in front of her, "loved the critics that turned muzzled."

"I thought you'd like that," Koala said amused.

Turning her head a little from left to right, Quinn wondered, "uh, where's Sabo?"

"Sabo? Hm, I dunno, he had said half an hour ago that he would leave, I thought he was with you."

She looked at Koala with mild confusion, mumbling, "no, not that I know..."

Though Quinn's reaction seemed harmless, she couldn't escape Koala's sharp perception. That girl tried to cheer her up as she noticed her mood was dropping. "Ah, I bet he's still searching for you! I mean, it was pretty full today!"

"Yeah, maybe," said Quinn and nodded lightly.

Koala drew her cellphone and looked on the empty screen. "Oh, he had sent me a text message 15 minutes ago!" she claimed, _"Hey Koala, I'm sorry that I couldn't stay longer, please greet Quinn from me when you see her and give her a big lovely squeeze!"_

"He wrote tha-?"

"Yep!" She hugged her tightly. "Don't worry about him, I'm sure he'll call you later!"

It took Quinn a moment before she could fully consider and agree to her statement. He was not the type to have long phone calls, but he was at least the first that tried to reach her; and when they talked with each other on the phone, she was happy without the expected hours (really, one had to be the type for phoning marathons she guessed).

...

As Quinn got back to her apartment in the late afternoon, she only heard the shower in the bathroom where Judy probably was, so her act stayed casual and with no worries. After she had put her stuff into her room, she went to the refrigerator and warmed up her food from the day before, eating it nonchalant at the dining table. Quinn wasn't thinking about much but Sabo right then, shoving the meal slowly into her mouth while staring with her thoughts into space, one cheek sank against her free hand. Today's day hadn't gone after plan, thus saddened her somewhat. She could barely talk to him and in the end he had been gone, made her worry if he was okay. He never talked much about his concerns with her, or at least he had a very slow and unclear way of expressing them.

But well, the good thing not after plan was to at least had seen Koala again. Even though not quite sure how, Quinn would love to spend more time with that girl, getting to know her better. The thought that she would become better friends, especially since she and Sabo worked close together, kept her mood up, and she ate her food with a smile.

It was a sudden loud short ring that startle her a little, coming from Judy's cellphone that she had left on the dining table. Quinn didn't care about the message notification first and was about to ignore it when the light popped, but a quick read of the sender caught her attention back.

She leaned a little forward to check if she had seen right, the phone screen already off again. Glancing quickly over to the bathroom door to check if Judy was still under the shower, she turned the screen on only to confirm her read.

'Law'.

Immediately she got her hands off it with surprised eyes and a cheeky smile. So Judy got his number now? Was that supposed to mean something? Quinn didn't know, but she found it good and she was curious what he had texted her. Very curious that not-knowing made her jittery, but she tried to hold back not to check their privacy.

 _Dr. Law Trafalgar, there you are, open up, but not ready to sign my contract_ , she thought, somewhat amused, somewhat disappointed. Wondered long enough as she had been staring on the device non-stop, Quinn sighed slowly and get her eyes away from it. It's about him and Judy, thus probably involved sex, hence something Quinn actually didn't want to know. _Dr. Lawlolo Trafalgar, you horny, horny hamster._

She put one arm over the chair, resting her face on it and stared holes into the air. "Law... botomy," she mumbled. "You're stupid." Quinn wondered if Judy was alright with her relationship to him, and if it had developed into something less shallow. She didn't even know if they were still sleeping with each other, since the last time she had seen him coming from Judy's bedroom had been quite a while.

Quinn narrowed her eyes at herself. Why was she caring anyway; if Judy liked him like that... her life, her choices.

Being so much in thought, Quinn hadn't noticed that the noise from the bathroom had quit already. Judy got outside in a bathrobe, drying her hair with a towel. "Hey, you already back?" she asked surprised after spotting her roommate, "how was it?"

"Pretty cool!" Quinn said. "Sabo was as awesome and cute as ever; oh, and I met an old friend again, you really have to get to know her, she's so cute and pretty! Anyway, I-"

"What are you talking about?"

Not understanding her question, she questioned her herself with blank eyes, "the Q&A of the Revolutionaries, you remember? Sabo had told us back then."

Judy furrowed her brows a little. "Quinn?"

"Huh?"

"Wait..." She closed her eyes for a moment to digest the situation. "That was today and you went there?"

Quinn's eyes shifted swiftly aside and back with an awkward smile. "Yes...?"

Frowning, Judy walked closer to the table and took the letter her friend had left lying this morning, popping it open. _"The qualification test will be held on the 3rd June in room A20.2 at 10AM, please consider arriving 10 minutes earlier for a punctual start,"_ she read and looked at Quinn. "Don't tell me you forgot about this."

"I..." Quinn looked away with her mouth corners sagging. "Well, kinda..."

"No, you definitely haven't; not you, who's been dreaming of that and left it this morning on the table."

Smiling discomforted, Quinn rubbed her neck. "I was thinking about it this morning, but I was running late anyway, so..." As Judy frowned a little at her again, she added quickly, "and-and I promised Sabo that I would come!"

"Are you fucking serious?"

"Yeah!" Quinn tried to smile at her with more confidence. "And I could meet Koala again, the girl I meant! It was worth it! Hey, what are you doing?"

Her friend ripped the letter in pieces and walked past her to get to the trash can, saying, "I can't believe you choose him over your future," as when talking to herself. She balled the paper scrap and let it join the trash.

Quinn narrowed her brows to her statement, asking, "what do you mean?"

"Quinn." Judy sighed and felt too tired to have to explain it. With her finger against her temple, she closed her eyes in exasperation. "Please just... don't say anything, it's alright. Your life, your choices."

When the brunette started to walk away, Quinn jumped up. "Hey, wait! What's the matter with you, why are you so mad now?"

Judy rolled her eyes and turned around. "I know you like Sabo and I wish you guys my best, but this, this was really stupid of you."

"But I promised him to come!"

"And you think he would've been mad at you for other priorities, like hell, that guy's prioritizing his work over you himself!"

"If I was in his position, I would too...," Quinn claimed quietly, barely looking at her.

"You're serious?"

"Yeah..." Quinn looked down. "I'm sorry, but I really forgot about it when I promised him..."

"You're SO stupid Quinn," Judy stated. "Guess what? The court has sent a letter as well, your father's out of jail since three days, bet you will forget about him as well."

"What's your problem?!" she snapped back. "You don't even talk to your father, so why should I?!"

"Because YOURS at least tries, I wish mine would, but what the fuck, this is not topic! Can you please be less dumb and stop doing so much for a guy that only gives you back half of what you do?"

"It's not like I don't like doing those-"

"Oh Quinn! It's the same like three years ago! There's some guy you like and you fall head over heels for him and acting like you have no own life! And in the end you'll be just disappointed again! Haven't you said you're sick of men, how could that with Sabo happen so fast?"

"Disappointed?" she repeated, showing no comprehension to her words. "What do you mean? Do you wanna tell me you don't believe in Sabo?"

Judy inhaled audibly and breathed out her exhaustion, rolling her eyes. "No, you've misunderstood me. I like him, he's a good guy, but you give him too much and probably expect him to return everything ."

"I don't," she claimed, determined. "I really don't, I'm happy with him just liking me back."

"You really wanna tell me that you were okay as he vanished from the table in the bar to make some random phone calls THAT long?"

Quinn tightened her lips to a sinking bow, frowning. "I'm fine with it, it was important."

"Has he at least told you what it was?" Judy asked flippantly. And the blonde kept quiet, managed another eye roll from her friend's side. "Oh wow, great."

"Just say if you don't support our relationship!"

"What? I-!" Judy groaned annoyed. "I didn't say that! I'm just worried that you'll get hurt again by continuing being so naive and stupid! Get it?! You put TOO MUCH effort into that relationship, stop it! Aren't you sick of doing that much for a guy, but not receiving the same?"

Displeased by her words, Quinn countered, "wow, then _you_ should stop running after a guy that has _zero_ interest in you! And Sabo's by the way not just 'a guy' but my _boyfriend!_ I dunno what your understanding of a relationship is, but mine's caring and doing something for your special one without expectations!"

"Oh geez, you guys been dating how long? Two months?"

"I know he likes me, he's just busy-"

"I've got the feel you like him more than he d-"

"He said he likes me, so shut up already!"

Surprised about her vulgar way of telling to silenced, Judy looked at her in appall. Quinn had never talked to her like that in serious arguments, it perplexed her for a second before she could pull herself together, realizing how much her issue with Sabo actually concerned the girl herself. "Quinn. I'm just caring about your future and you don't know if this guy will be, but this art class could've been. You- Why are you crying again?"

"Why do you have to tell me that like this?" Quinn asked as she glared madly at her with wet eyes. "I know I'm stupid in love! I get it! He's not perfect and he didn't even bother to talk to me today, but you don't have to tell me like that!"

"Quinn-"

"My future's fine! I have a great teacher job with a good salary, unlike you I don't need to worry!"

Judy was muzzled for a moment while her face turned pretty mad and uncomfortable.

Noticing that she had hit a vulnerable spot, Quinn's brows turned to regret. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean that... You know, I-"

"It's fine," Judy said. "Who the fuck cares about my stupid job, not even I."

"Judy, I care..."

"Well, and I care about your damn future. So stop acting like a dumb idiot, and have a little more self-respect."

Quinn's jaw dropped. "Self-respect? _You_ telling _me?_ Seriously? You know what? I don't care what you think, stop calling me dumb and let me handle my relationship how I want."

"Even if it's wrong?"

"How do _you_ know what's right or wrong? And even if, emotions may work in theory, but in practice it's _different!_ " Quinn disappeared into her room and shut the door.

"Oi, Quinn!" Judy knocked on it loudly. "Don't leave the conversation like that, that's super childish!"

"Leave me alone."

Judy sighed out loud. "Fine, do what you want, I just meant well..."

Looking at the door with a slight grumpy face, Quinn listened to Judy's steps as she left the spot with grumble. Normally, this wasn't her way to handle an argument, since she thought silence made nothing better. But maybe it was indeed better to calm down first, getting her head clear from all the upset that their talk caused. She sat down on her bed and fanned her eyes, whispering to herself, "okay, don't cry, crybaby. Today was just not his day, and you can apply for the next semester as well. You'll be even better then, improving your chance to success!" She tugged off her clothes, so that she was only dressed in her top and panties, and snugged under her blanket. _And you will have another year with your friends here, and the children in school,_ she continued in her head. _As long as he's still in town, you should spent as much time as you can with him, Quinn! Judy just has no clue how you feel!_

A small laugh geared after her, and she pulled up her phone, staring at it. She was sure that Sabo would get in touch with her today or latest tomorrow; and she was sure he cared for her, with or without Koala's lie from today.

However, it would be nice to have someone now she could talk to, since Judy was no option right then. Quinn regret not to had asked Koala for her number, but anyway, sleep would be fine too she guessed, since one said it's the best medicine. Putting her phone away, she pulled the blanket near to her face and closed her eyes, trying to relax for the rest of the day.

And for any reason, she randomly wondered what Law would have said to the situation. Probably the same as Judy, scolding her with a snap on her forehead.

She smiled.

But his scolds were so much nicer.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** August is coming and the story somehow stuck at June, let's see if I can catch up again hahaha. I'm sorry, I've let you wait and now updated a pretty much Lawless chapter. I seriously tried to put him in, but dropped the idea because it didn't seem to fit. However, next update will be either tomorrow or within the fellow week :)_

 _ **Apple Bloom** \- because young people don't know what they want haha_

 _ **Yakimeni** \- Germany :)_

 _ **Guest** \- I think authors will be always happy reading positive feedback and their readers thoughts hahaha_


	38. Date

**38\. Date**

Sometimes the bed was so comfortable, you just didn't want to get up. Judy, however, had to, since the doorbell rang thrice, though she had no clue who this could have been as Quinn always got her keys with her. She put on her morning robe and stepped out of her room with matching slippers to answer the door.

Peeking outside, Judy's face turned to surprise.

"Yo."

"Sabo, I didn't expect you here," she said to the young man in front of their door, "Quinn isn't home yet."

"Not? Do you know where she's and when she'll be back?"

Since yesterday the two haven't talked to each other more than word exchanges of 'good morning' and 'bye'. Honestly, it even was Quinn that had taken the initiative not to maintain the ignorance completely, so that Judy could answer, "at school for some teacher conference, and I think in half an hour or so?"

He sighed a little. "Ah, what a bad timing."

Eyeing him discreetly up and down to realize his attendance here, she somehow felt kind of bad now for what she had thought yesterday. Her opinion hadn't changed much, but she felt unfair for judging him like that, even worse than she had spoken out. "Come in. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you when she's back."

Sabo waved with one hand. "I don't wanna disturb-"

"You don't." She opened the door wide open and led the way in.

Since it was the first time for him to visit that apartment, he felt weird getting inside without the presence of Quinn. His eyes scanned it briefly, trying to realize that he just took another step further (literally) into her life.

"That thing from your work was yesterday, right? I heard Quinn attended as well," Judy said and walked towards the open kitchen.

"Yeah, that's why I came," he replied and followed her after getting rid off his shoes. "I had no time for her yesterday, so I thought she'd like it if I spent this Sunday with her..."

"A date?" Judy concluded a little excited and turned to him with a smile. "What did you plan on doing?"

"Uhh, on my way here I passed a fun fair they just opened," he told while pointing with his thumb behind him. He seemed a little nervous and shy about it, his voice getting quieter and somewhat insecure, "I mean, I don't know if she likes to go, but I would give it a go."

"Quinn loves those!" Judy stated. "You'd make her very happy if you guys go."

"Oh, really? That's cool."

"Yeah, but she's super scared of those big rides like roller coasters and so on. That means, you _have_ to drag her on those."

"Ah, I don't wanna force her to-"

"You won't force her, you'll convince her," she responded and rolled her eyes with a cheeky smirk, leaning with an arm on the kitchen counter. "Believe me, you both will have a lot fun after she finishes puking."

"Eh what?"

"Just kidding, she's afraid of them, but her stomach resistant."

"That's good to hear, I brought enough cash I guess," he said, laughing awkwardly. Somehow he couldn't handle that woman's humor. "Uhh, do you know what she likes?"

"What she likes?" Her stare questioned him to be more precise.

"I mean, I know she likes painting, food and polka dots..." he said and rubbed his neck, looking to the side. "But I dunno, more specific maybe...?"

"Quinn likes a lot," Judy stated the fact straight and simple, "everything cool, cute and pretty."

"Cool, cute and pretty," he repeated, adding sarcastically, "get it."

It became comforting to see him asking her that question so that she assumed that he had thought about his behavior towards his girlfriend. He got here all shy with the intention to make her feel better, Judy couldn't wait for Quinn to return. "You know, she's the type loving cheesy stuff. Sharing drinks, holding hands and everything you see on TV," said she and smiled at him. "But if you really wanna make her happy, just show her that she's meaningful to you." He looked at her, soaking her words suddenly more serious like he understood his aforementioned faults. Between them was silence then and Judy inhaled, trying to loosen the awkwardness with another unimportant remark, quite with tease, "oh, and she likes cute lingerie, but don't tell her I told you."

"What?" Sabo said again, surprised and confused about that random information. And he blushed as Judy's lips widened to a saucy smirk.

Right within, they heard a key unlocking the door and both pointed their faces to the direction of the hall. "I'm back, Judy," Quinn said motivationless like it was only for the matter of politeness. With a straight face she took off her shoes and moved towards living-room, her eyes catching the unexpected young man. "Sabo?"

Sabo smiled and lifted his hand. "Welcome back."

Quinn was confused that he was there. After all, it was his first time visiting her. "Wha-wha-wha-what are you doing here? Since when?"

"Ah, I just got here a few minutes ago," he said, staring on his watch.

"Someone's asking for a little rendezvous," Judy commented from behind, not looking at her.

"Huh?" Quinn's eyes grew in surprise and she looked at him in disbelief. "Really?! Today?" He nodded and her heartbeat accelerated in excitement. "Uhm, I, uhh, what date?"

"There was this new fun fair-"

"That close to the city?!"

"Yeah," he said and eye-smiled. "You wanna go?"

"Of course, yes! Yes, I want!" Quinn answered right away, blushing of happiness and nervosity. "But wait, uhh, can I change first? I mean, if you've waited too long, I can keep this on too! But, else, I'll be ready in five minutes, getting on something more comfy. It won't take long, really, just tell me!"

"Sure, go ahead, I have time."

She was all jittery and rushed into her room, tugging off her blouse and pants. Looking into her closet then, she furrowed her brows and rummaged uncertain through the selection. What should she wear? Something cute? Something sporty? Something casual? Something feminine? Panicky about the time she had set for herself, she pulled out several shirts, skirts and dresses and holding it in front of her.

"Ah wait, I bet we'll eat a lot," she mumbled then and grabbed a short-sleeved loose hoodie that she paired with shorts. Going out with Sabo always meant wearing something with extra space in the tummy area, the thought make her giggle. _Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabo, Sabo_.

Dressed, she got out and stepped right in front of him, looking up and saluted. "I'm ready!"

"Alright, let's go." He took her hand and moved with her outside, Quinn holding him tightly with an endless grin.

But she stopped as she remembered to do something else. "Uh wait, can you go ahead, I have to speak to Judy for a sec." Sabo agreed then and went outside without her, Quinn turning back to the door where Judy stood and was about to close. Quinn's eyes shifted away, and she forced out a quiet, "I'm sorry for yesterday..."

"No, it's fine, I'm the one to apologize," her friend replied nonchalant. "I was a little harsh on you about Sabo, but well, now seeing him here and trying's kinda relieving to me too. Just go enjoy your date, he's waiting."

"Wuaaah, I felt so terrible the whole day about us!" Quinn said and squeezed Judy. "I'm so glad you're not angry anymore!"

"Yeah yeah, whatever, go now," the brunette commented, pulling her face with annoyed expression away from her.

"Yes Ma'am!" Quinn backed off with another salute. "I will have the funniest fun at the fun fair with funny Sabo! See you!"

"And Quinn," Judy stopped her swiftly as she went off. "I guess today's a good day to talk to him."

She nodded determined, and Judy closed the door, the apartment turned silent so fast. He definitely seemed like he had thought about their relationship, thus Quinn shouldn't miss the opportunity.

Standing at the door with folded arms, hearing the couple had left the building, Judy looked over to her room. "You can get out now." She walked back there and got inside. "You heard me?"

"It's not like I want to." It was Law who was nestled on his back in her bed, staring against the ceiling while his arm lay on his forehead.

"Sure you don't," she responded sarcastically and got over to him, crawling next to the guy, which lower part hid under the blanket. "If you want, you can stay in bed too, I'm ready for a third round."

Law side-glanced her swiftly, unamused, before he pushed himself up and put his pants on. Walking outside, Judy stayed in bed and rolled her eyes with a disappointed and little grumpy face, but got up then to follow him outside. "Say, how long do you wanna avoid her?"

"I didn't plan on avoiding her today," Law claimed and opened the refrigerator, checking for something to drink like it's his own quarter.

Judy sat down at the table, staring at her nails while her head rested on one fist. "So you avoid him?"

He narrowed his eyes a little by the spot of a smoothie jug, knowing instantly it was Quinn's made. Didn't hold him from taking it and pouring it into a glass after he had stirred it up. "I have nothing to say to that guy, I don't need to make it more awkward."

"So, if he hadn't come you would've acted normal to her?"

"Yeah."

"I think we both have another definition of 'normal'."

"No, normal as in 'hi-thanks-bye'." He drank it, and he tasted out banana, melon and something sour. Probably frozen berries like she had used back then.

"Well, that might be normal with others, but not with her," Judy stated. "You're constantly flirting with her, even though she doesn't know. Have you ever thought of not doing so, not provoking the fun time you have with her?"

Yeah, he did flirt with her in some kind of way, and he found it amusing that she was so dense about it, yet it did not make him want to stop. With every reaction she returned, she got him more and more into it; Judy was right, he was just provoking his feelings.

Judy regarded his silent stare into space and felt almost annoyed about it. "Oh Law, just get over it. She's completely fallen for Sabo, period."

"I'm kinda over it."

"You can't even sleep with other women but me without feeling bad. I mean, why is that anyway? Can you please explain that to me? But anyway, you're definitely not over it, it's-"

"Geez, can you just shut up?" he said annoyed himself.

Judy half-lidded her eyes and folded her arms. "However, you owe me something."

Law looked at her with small eyes a la 'what?'

"For helping you, don't think I'm satisfied with sex," she told him as if it's self-evident. "It would be me anyway that should ask for a payback for having sex with you."

"The hell you are," he replied.

"Get under the shower, I was planning on doing grocery shopping with Quinn today, but now as she's gone, _you_ should assist me before the city closes," Judy said and got up, walking back to her room. "And your car comes in handy, perfect, you can drive me to the cleaners later, I have to pick up a dress."

Law stared after her with half-opened mouth, frowning, his face saying 'why the fuck's she talking to me like that?'

Turning around to check on him, seeing him still on the last spot, she said , "oh geez, you wanna root there? Let's go," also as a matter of course.

* * *

"Woaaah, this looks so cool!" Quinn exclaimed as they stood at the entrance of the fun fair, people walking in and out with balloons, stuffed toys and cotton candy. She fidgeted vividly with her arms, saying breathless, "oh my god, oh my god, they got Marshmallow with fruits, coated in chocolate here, let's get them!"

"Huh, how do you know?" Sabo asked befuddled, since he saw no one holding one of those.

Her eyes wildened. "I SMELL it!"

"The only marshmallow I smell is you-"

"Go go go!" She pushed him forward.

The place was maybe just an enjoyment for a week before they would travel on, but it was big and colorful enough for the two to probably spend hours in there. Especially the food gained their attention immediately, both standing in front of a booth and adoring everything.

"Oaah, this looks so good!" Sabo commented over the unusual but delicious design of food on skewers.

"Right?" Quinn seconded it and pouted her lips. "And it's sooo freaking expensive, it- Sabo?"

She looked at him next to her who gave her a thumbs up and a blank smile after ordering them the worshiped dish. "It looks and smells good, we _have_ to try it!"

And yes, it tasted liked it looked, amazing and genius, the two ate it like there was no tomorrow. Sabo could swear it even loaded his energy, made him challenging his strength on one of those extra large high striker.

"New high score!" the staff exclaimed and bystanders applauded for the young man that rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Not bad, Kiddo..." the muscular men on the side said, totally baffled by Sabo beating their scores.

"I know right?!" Quinn squealed and squeezed him tightly, "he's so strong!"

The couple left the spot, having those men staring after them, still in total disbelief that a KID had beaten the hell out of them, tugging on their pride. And the two kept walking in joy and casual through the paths, holding at shooting galleries, diverse smaller rides, and even more food booths.

"Oh my god, this looks good too," Quinn drooled over the exotic design of another special dish only that food stand got.

Sabo staring at it hungrily as well, sighed. "Everything here's so expen- Quinn?"

She smiled wildly at him, almost dumb looking with two thumbs up after ordering them two plates. "It looks and smells good, we _have_ to try it!"

And so they enjoyed another delightful meal, filling their big stomachs before they halted in front of a big roller coaster, the biggest out there. "I don't want, I don't want, I don't want, I don't want!" Quinn cried out as they got up there after Sabo could convince her to try it out, the tickets already bought. Standing right within the line and being next to seat was definitely different than watching it from afar. Quinn went from, "oh god, we gonna die! The seat belts will break, we all gonna die! We gonna die!" as they sat in the wagon; to "SaaBOOO NOOO!" as they rolled down the rails; to "that was totally freaking awesome, _never_ again please!"

And as revenge, she dragged him to the alleged scariest ride out there.

"I'm not good with ghost trains..." Sabo told with a wry smile, analyzing the ride they stood in front of. He went from, "oh geez, this will be fun..." as they waited in the wagon, seeing shocked and laughing people leaving that ride; to screaming and "what the shit?!" as they were inside; to a totally exhausted, "god, we could have buy something to eat with the money," when they got back to daylight.

"That was totally lame," Quinn said unwhelmd.

He looked at her with no comprehension. "What?! That was super scary!"

Quinn and him got up. "Nooo, they should have put in psychopaths with chainsaws and knives, or with straight-jackets and creepy laughter, instead of vampires and ghosts! Like, driving through a real freakshow, THAT's scary."

"That's not scary, you can always fight them back, but go and try fighting a ghost back."

Still not convinced, she pointed out her tongue, "meeeh, lame!"

* * *

Meanwhile Law and Judy had been grocery shopping, to his disbelief that he gave in. But she was right, somehow, somewhere he owed her a favor. Putting the bags inside his car, Judy dropped a bag full apples so that they spread in his trunk and bounced down on the ground of the parking lot. "Ah fuck."

Unenthused, Law only stood there and looked stoic. "Why did you buy so many apples anyway? I don't think your friend's gonna eat them all in time."

"Quinn loves applesauce," she explained and started to pick the apples up. Crouching on the ground and putting them halfhearted into the trunk again, she stared at Law, who only watched after placing the bags in his hand down. "Can you help me?" she asked, rather unfriendly since he was just standing beside her, unconcerned.

He frowned at her, wondering one more why he was even here to begin with. That woman really dared talking to him like that, she was even worse than her friend; and the worst part was that he, in the end, indeed surrendered and helped to pick up those apples.

Sitting in the car together then, Law drive out the vehicle while Judy checked the receipt. "I think we spent too much today, I was just deceived by your car," she said and held the long piece of paper up with two hands on each end. "Hopefully this will last for at least two weeks. Man, why's the sum so high?"

Even Law wanted to remain passive, he narrowed his brows and had to tell her, "you bought lots of... bacon."

"Oh true, fuck," she said and checked the amount she actually had bought. "And it's the good one. Oh geez, Quinn will complain again; I bought too many oven- and microwave-ready meals." She slumped back and sighed. "But cooking is so stressful."

Law's minimized gaze moved briefly to her, again not believing his ears. He could remember she had said anything from cooking to be her hobby and a 24/7 act if she wasn't at work. He should had known it had been a facade, the hell, her whole personality had been a facade.

"I guess I bought as many package of bacon as I bought apples... that's shit a lot."

"Guess you gonna make 'bacon-sauce' out of it."

Silence.

Wait, what did he say?

Judy glared at Law speechless and terrified. "Did you just 'quinn'?" He looked at her, also somewhat shocked and terrified himself about his senseless comment, not able to respond to her question. Shaking her head slowly, not getting her eyes off him, she gave herself the answer, "oh my gosh, you just quinned."

"Do you use your friend's name as a verb?"

Judy nodded with a light eye roll. "Sometimes. To quinn-around means nothing other than making a flat joke and pun out of everything, and the level _you_ brought was not even amateurish."

He didn't want to comment on this, he felt very uncomfortable that he had said that and found it - not necessarily funny but - amusing. Looking away and trying to forget that moment, he focused the exit while looking kind of grimly.

His co-driver was also uncomfortable with it and took a deep breath with a sarcastic smile, changing the topic, "anyway, let's go picking up my dress."

Topic change or not, Law kept silence the whole ride over, just as always, responding only (again) halfhearted (or rather no-hearted) to anything the brunette said. Whatever she had to tell got in one ear and left on the other side, he could only recall fractions of what she was talking about and it was annoying. So much gossip; so much about sex and guys; makeup; looks; hair; everything he had no interest in, she was chewing his ear off, way worse than the other girl did. Quinn's babble was at least amusing and... cute; this was just awful and a reason why he never had pillow talks.

"One question. Is it true that you get women easier to bed with a fancy car?"

"You can answer that question yourself."

"I found you appealing even before I knew this was your car."

"I never used my car to pick up women."

Judy smiled slyly. "Well okay, in your case it's not necessary."

...

The cleaner's shop was not far from the supermarket, but Law had to park a little farther. And again, he couldn't believe that he actually went with her to get her piece of clothing, he would have preferred to stay in the car, but his soft spot was always being in someone's debt.

But he knew: only for today and then never again.

After Judy got her dress and both headed back to the parking spot, Judy stopped as they passed a shoe boutique. "Oh look, they still have the spring sale off 70%. Last time I've checked their online shop and they hadn't."

"Whatever, let's go," Law responded disinterested and carried on to walk.

"No, I have to check this out."

"Do what you want, I get back to the car."

"What? You serious? What if I find many pairs, I can't carry all boxes on my own?"

"Then don't buy anything," he muttered, tilting his head only slightly over his shoulder.

"Don't be so grumpy, come one and be a gentleman."

Judy then disappeared inside, expecting him to follow, what quite irritated the exhausted guy. "Oi!"

And again. He gave in.

"What do you find more attractive?" The brunette asked, wearing two type of pumps on each foot. "Those or those?"

"They look the same to me," Law told her annoyed, waiting on the low seat in the shop, "just take one and pay."

Judy placed her hands to her hips and rolled her eyes. "Okay, let me ask you like that: whom would you rather bang? A woman with these or those shoes?"

"I said, they look the same to me!"

"Oh are you serious? Geez, you're more dense than I had thought."

"I'm having sex with a woman's body, not her shoes."

"And not with her clothes, her hair, her makeup, and still this makes the whole package that attracts you so much. I just take both, it's on sale anyway." She took them off and put them back into the box, taking both with her.

Law face palmed. _What the hell am I doing here?_

And to his bad, Judy indeed bought a lot, more than she could carry, made him ending up with a dozen of boxes in his hands AND her dress.

"I hope Quinn likes those shoes, they were quite cheap, definitely a good deal."

So much shit-talk, can he just put his dick into her mouth?

"Oh no, are they serious?" Judy stopped again.

"What now?" Law muttered.

"Look, the nail salon has a special offer today," Judy said and stepped up to the price chart outside. "That comes great in time, I wanted to renew my nails next week anyway, so why not today?"

Nope. Not this time.

"I get to the car," Law said dryly and walked off.

"Ah no, I don't know if I can carry this all after I've gotten them done," Judy told, lifting her hands with two bags with shoe boxes, "you have to stay and wait, seeing if it's alright or else I could destroy them freshly made."

He frowned at her. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"You owe me that, Mister."

Law twitched with his right eye, glaring at her confidence, again completely discomposured. And as he entered the salon with her, a whiff of obnoxious chemistry hit him, made him wrinkling his nose.

Judy noticed that and told as if he was a complaining sissy, "oh please, men just don't know what a woman has to do to look that glamorous for you to actually wanna sleep with her."

He put all the stuff down beside the couches for customers to wait. "I'll let the stuff here and pick you up with the car later," he told, "just give me a call when you're finish." And before she could say anything to his cold words, he was gone.

...

Any more minute, Law surely would have killed her. Normally he was good to stay relax, ignoring his weird surroundings; but being with someone on personal level that long while trying to stay calm and polite (or sort of) took his energy. He preferred that woman definitely for else but not as company one-to-one.

Walking tired back to his car, he passed many people that seemed to came directly from the fun fair close by. They carried toys, balloons and snacks you could only get from there, it drew his thoughts back to Quinn immediately. Right now, she still must have been with Sabo even about four hours had passed already since they had left the house. He didn't care for fun fairs or any kind of amusement park, but caught himself questioning how it would have been if _they_ got there together. He would love to see her crying and shitting her pants on all the extreme rides that place would offer, a good motive to film and tease her about it later. He would even pay that shit for her...

Law sank his face, ran his hand through his hair and stopped at his neck. This all was so... confusing.

* * *

"Woah, ferris wheels are so awesome yet so scary, but so awesome, but still scary!" Quinn said, getting inside the colorful tub with Sabo while holding a stuffed dragon toy and a stick cotton candy. "I've never been on one like that, only those in closed cabins for multiple passengers."

They sat down next to each other and Sabo looked up, checking the height of it. "Me neither, but I guess it's getting cold up there."

"Yeah, the temperature already sank down here."

He looked at her, noticing the goosebumps on her arm that got him smiling. Without a word, he took off his blazer and hand it over. "Here."

"Ah, I don't need it," Quinn claimed and shook her head to decline, "but thank you."

"Take it, I'm fine without."

She stared at him and hesitated for a second until she took it, since it really got a little cold around her arms. "Thank you..." Quinn mumbled with pink cheeks as she had put it on, and she loved that it was so oversize to her.

The wheel then started to move and she got nervous. "Oh god, it starts." Second by second, their tub raised and she looked at their feet that hung from the seat. "This is so awesome, ahh! It's been a while that I had hung down from somewhere high."

"You can even rock it," Sabo said and moved the tub back and forward by swinging his legs and upper body.

"Ah no! Stop it...!" Quinn shouted and clung to him tightly. She might be familiar to heights, but it didn't ensure the imagination of this tub to break not to be scary.

However, Quinn had lots of fun today, it went exactly how she had wanted it without him interrupting their time together with any random phone call. Almost perfect, there was just one thing...

"Sabo..." Quinn began quietly and he looked at her while her gaze sank to her lap. "I wanna... uhm... talk with you about something..."

Suddenly, her heart beat faster again and she felt hard bringing out any word.

He noticed that. "Don't be nervous."

Quinn's eyes moved back up, locking with his. "Yesterday... have you avoided me?"

It was silence again that followed, made her wonder if it had been the wrong way to start. Maybe she should have said something less directly, taking their conversation only slowly to her point.

But as direct her question was, as direct was his answer. "Yes."

Her breath stuck for a moment and she glared at him with furrowed brows, awaiting a more precise answer.

Sabo looked down from the tub, into space. "I'm so sorry Quinn, you were probably angry at me."

"No, I wasn't angry," she told, "just confused..."

"You know Quinn..." His eyes wandered back into her worried face. "That with us, I've been thinking about it a lot."

"You're not breaking up with me, are you?"

"What?" He looked at her, staggered that she had that idea. "No, of course not. It's just... I don't know how to explain it, I can't even tell myself properly. I guess I've never considered before dating a girl, this whole thing about emotions and relationships just confuses me."

His words didn't ease her worried look. "Confuses you?"

A little smile washed over his lips. "When I first met you, I don't know why, but I found you instantly sympathetic."

"Me too!" Quinn joined straight away, but drew back as she realized her additional comment was somewhat unnecessary. "I-I'm sorry, please continue."

"I was unsure if I only confused those feelings for attraction, when it was actually just something platonic. I guess I just had a stressful day yesterday, that's why I disappeared because so many irritating and puzzling thoughts haunted me."

"You feel better now...?"

"Yeah," he said. "I've spent the night thinking about it with the result that what I feel for you's surely not just platonic."

Quinn had no words for this first, thus was only glaring into his face. So, he was worried the whole time that their relationship wasn't supposed to be? It didn't seem like a lie, instead, it sounded quite matching to the behavior he had pulled off. But somehow, she didn't feel satisfied with the answer and looked unwittingly away, asking, "you're... sure?" It was too easy, she couldn't accept the fact the issue that worried her the whole time was solved and gone like that.

Sabo touched her cheek tenderly and moved her face back to him. He leaned forward and bit into the cotton candy that walled in front of their lips, ate it and got closer then to kiss her. "I'm sure."

Quinn's cheeks turned red and she couldn't handle the moment, trying to distract in her shyness, "when you bit in this, it looked like you bit in a cloud, that's super cute..."

"You're super cute," he said and smiled at her, his face still close.

She blushed even more and tightened her lips to a straight line before she pecked his quickly. "You're so cheesy."

"You love cheesy," he said and she hid her face immediately in the cotton candy, avoiding him to see her red face.

"What are you doing?"

"Hiding my face, I'm embarrassed."

"The cotton candy's sticky, what?"

"Yes..."

Sabo backed off and chuckled. "By the way, Ace's coming in two weeks, wanna pick him up from the airport with me and Luffy?"

She pulled the stick down, responding excited, but unsure, "what? Can I? Isn't that weird?"

"No, why should it?" he said.

"Then I wanna come too!"

* * *

Law hated that for every day that passed, he could admit easily to himself that he somehow felt something for Quinn. It became more and more obvious in his own eyes, he couldn't deny it anymore as much as he tried. Yes, he wasn't the slightest over it; Judy was also here right. Even he was committed to nothing and no one, it felt so wrong to sleep with other woman; to led the lifestyle he had before.

Every touch, every kiss, every feel they had with him, he couldn't think of anyone but her. It became harder to bear the distance he was forced to have; he couldn't stand that annoying burning stitch whenever the situation made clear that she would never be in his possession.

"Law..." the woman beneath him moaned in sweat. His thrust were stronger than normal, his grips harsher. He leaned down and bit into her neck while growling in annoyance. His bites deeper. "You're amazing..."

"You fucking bitch," he muttered under his breath and grabbed her throat, choking her a little, turning her face redder than it already was. "Tell me how many guys have you let in?"

She squinted her eyes, a mixture of tantalizing squeaks and sensual moaning leaving her mouth.

He was so sick of it, he was sick of all of them. He wanted no more of those dirty and horny strangers, neither he wanted Judy. It was so unsatisfying like never.

* * *

 _ **Nightmare22** \- I'm glad that you liked that chapter even without Law involved :)! Thank you very much for reading and reviewing._

 _ **Yakimeni** \- Hope that was a enough Law for you here to satisfy you at least a little ;) Ah, I don't like revealing my real name on this side, but hi Astrid, guess you can call me Milly haha._

 _ **Apple Bloom** \- no, she forgot the qualification test for art school._


	39. Lawdorable

**39\. Lawdorable**

Law hadn't thought much of any disruption that could intersect with his day as he got to work this morning, casual in his routine with a cup of coffee. It was sort of a good start, though he wouldn't word it as such, but for any reason he didn't mind going to work today; outstanding because it was even a week he wasn't responsible for surgery.

Going through the patient list before his shift would officially begin, he stopped at a file that pulled the annoyance back out of him faster than he could count.

 _'Quinn Heady/8.45AM - canceled.'_

There it went his mood.

* * *

Sitting in the classroom after the lesson had come to an end, Quinn hung with her cheek on her fist over the teacher's desk and stared holes into space while her students packed out their lunches. There was no real train of thought loafing her mind, thus she listened to her students conversation half-heartily.

"Yesterday I won the lottery!" Usopp claimed, standing with pride from his chair.

His friends looked at him, Luffy commenting astonished, "woah, really?!"

The long-nose angled his arms and placed his little fists on his hips, raising his chest and nodded at the other boy. "Yeah, I wouldn't need to work anymore, but I thought it would be better to donate the million."

"What?" Nami said, unenthused about his story, "you're definitely lying!"

Flinching back, showing his nervosity instantly, he claimed again, "I'm not lying, I really won...!"

"You're not even 18, you can't play the lottery!"

"I-!" He had no explanation for that.

Luffy turned off his previous reaction, not impressed about the boy's lie. "Hmpf, and I was excited."

"Such a liar," Sanji commented flatly just as Zoro, "disappointing."

 _Lottery... Lawttery..._ Quinn thought, still with empty stares piercing the air, holding the lid of her thermosflask. His name was just so versatile, she couldn't stop having fun with it. _Why does Law have so much money? He won the Lawttery._ Listen only passive to her students during their lunch break then, Quinn drifted with her thoughts away to lots of trivia, but nothing kept her more busy than the joy with that name. _What does Law wear to court? A Lawsuit..._ Sunken in her amusement, she smiled to herself and occasionally sipped her tea.

Her attention drew to the door as she heard some knocking, and right afterward someone opening it.

"Huuuh?" Quinn glared, taken aback. "Trafalgar, what-why-how...- what?"

His appearance was at the bottom of the list from all people she could ever imagine paying her a visit at work. There were enough reasons for him not to show up, actually _only,_ since she wasn't able to list an opposite one so that she glared at the guy in anticipation.

Standing at the doorway, Law's eyes scanned the classroom briefly. He remembered when he had been in school, they hadn't something like an art room, let alone an art course. Back then it was a private academy with main focus on medicine from grade one he had been educated at; subjects like art and music were foreign to him before he had found himself in this town and visited a normal middle and high school.

"Hey, this is the guy that helped me with my arm last time!" Luffy exclaimed and jumped up from his chair, waving at the man. "Hey, it's me, Luffy, you remember?!"

"You mean that creep," Usopp whispered hearable to his quirky friend when he remembered too.

Also Nami couldn't forget about his presence, recalling his stupid Grinch-face from the hospital and asked, "he's Miss Heady's husband, right?"

Quinn half-lidded her eyes with a wry smile, remarking that he's not and looked back to their intruder, saying "ignore what she said."

Law took it easy and of course ignored the child's statement. "Miss Heady, you've missed your appointment yesterday."

The class allowed their ears to listen, so Quinn smiled at him over-friendly, such as her words were dressed, "I didn't _miss_ it, I've called before dropping it." After all, she didn't want to be a bad role-model to her students.

"And you haven't made a new."

"Well, yes... certainly...?" Her smile changed to a more sheepish one before she snapped irritated, "w-why are you here anyway?! Surely not only to tell me that!"

Law made one step back, about to close the door again with a flat, "see you."

"Ahh, no wait!" she stopped him, somewhat in panic, made him aiming his impervious face back at her. "They have their 15 minutes lunch break now, staaay."

"What?" said he, "and why should I?"

"Well, uhh, because..." Quinn began with a cheeky tight smile, her eyeballs rolling up to the side. Looking back at him, it turned to a more awkward grin. "After this I have three hours free time, and-and-and, well, I've got nothing to do..."

"And now I'm supposed to spend _my_ free time with you?" Law asked with a brow rose, "ever considered that I just have a short break too?"

"No. Have you?"

"No. I'm off today."

"Ohh, so you stay?"

"No."

Quinn pushed her lower lip out with brows turned dissatisfied. "Why not?"

"Miss Heady and her husband have a marriage issue!" Nami suddenly commented from the corner she and her friends were sitting together.

Not giving them a glance, Law told Quinn simple, "that's a reason why."

"Ah, those are kids, don't take them too seriously," she replied and wagged her hand up and down. "Staaay and we can talk about my examination later on, I know a cute café here around the corner!"

"I-"

Quinn got up and paddled over to him, grabbing his arm with a wide smile. "Pleaaaase, Doc."

He looked down at her, pulling slightly against her grip, but quit when he noticed how tight she was actually holding him. "Fine..." sighed he quietly in form of a small grumble.

"Great!" Pleased about his answer, she moved back while he followed her inside with opposite emotions (though he was definitely not that mad). "You know, if I got nothing to do, these three hours every week are soooo endless. But driving home for that bit's also no option. I have other colleagues taking breaks around the same time with me, but they for most only talk about school and everything related, it's getting on my nerve sometimes! I mean, well you are a teacher, and I am, but seriously?" She took an empty chair and placed it next to the teacher's desk. "Uhhh, you can sit here, lunch break will be over soon."

His opinion on the little furniture was doubt. It was one of the dozen chairs provided for the children here, way too tiny for him in his eyes. "I guess I prefer to stand."

"No, you're tall and super sinister, don't stand around but sit," she ordered, easy-going in her itonation as if his described aura was a simple matter of course like describing someone's hair color. "Don't worry, the chair's strong enough to hold an adult."

Quirking the right side of his upper lip, unamused about her fiat, his eyes shifted over to the carefree teacher that took place on her 'normal-size" chair. Law eventually didn't want to make a big deal out of it and pull himself together to sit down on that. It was strange to know that the chair was big enough for those second graders to fit on also in a few years, while also strange to know that he had used to fit on it properly _many_ 'few' years ago. When he thought it was not that bad and the awkwardness only developing in his mind, his eyes wandered back to the young woman next to him, got his face low.

"What?" Law muttered as Quinn threw him an utterly amused smile. Those you received when you had confessed anything embarrassing.

"You look..." She giggled a little. "Lawdorable."

Law's eyelids fell down half over his eye-balls, his mouth corners following the move. "Lawdo... what?"

"Lawdorable," she repeated, chuckling. "That means, though being a grimly grinch, adorable in some kinda way. Hey, what are you doing?"

He had gotten up, moving back to the door. "I'm not staying for you to make fun of me."

"I don't make _fun_ of you, calling someone adorable - I mean Lawdorable - is a compliment, or not? _I_ would take it as a compliment if someone calls me adorable!"

With an eye roll, he gave in and returned to the chair.

"I have tea with me by the way, you want some?" Quinn asked and hold her thermosflask on display.

"No, thanks."

"Miss Heady," a little boy called and moved up to her. It was Sanji that gave her a bright lovely smile, holding a piece of paper in his hands.

Quinn looked at him. "Yeah?"

"I've drawn you a picture." He extended his arms and hold it open for her to see what his artistic side begat.

"Ah, that's so sweet, Sanji!" Quinn said with happy rosy cheeks. "Looks really tasty!"

"This is actually a steak design, but I know you don't eat steak, so I replace it with fish," he told and rubbed the back of his head in shy modesty.

"Very attentive of you." She took over the drawing and patted his head, whispering to Law, "isn't he sweet?"

His gaze shifted to the little boy that was looking at the doctor, suddenly hugging his teacher with a grumpy face. Law's right eye twitched about the random move and the stare he shot him. _What's with all those blonde guys?!_ "..."

"Miss Heady!" Luffy called next and moved to the teacher's desk as well, so Sanji let go of Quinn. "I've drawn something for you too!" Holding his work up with a big grin, she eyed it carefully.

And she had no clue what it depicted, again.

"Ah, uhh, okay? Looks... artistic! Very sweet of you too." Her face moved to Law and she whispered one more with a slightly desperate head shake, "I have no clue what this is."

"What's that supposed to be?" Sanji dared to ask, staring at his scrawl underwhelmed.

"Hm? You don't recognize it?" his mate said to him.

"No the slightest."

"But you do, right?" Luffy aimed his question towards Quinn, and before she could answer, he looked over to Law. "Or you!"

Caught somewhat off-guard by his attention, eyes a bit widened, he darted his gaze over to Quinn with wonder if that boy was really asking him and what he was supposed to do now.

Her lips moved, telling him soundless, 'just play along.'

"..." And so he did, albeit uncomfortably. "...yeah."

"See," Luffy told his classmate and laughed with his teeth pressed together, shown through a bright smile.

Sanji glanced at Law with half-opened eyes. "You're such a bad liar.

He sweatdropped.

Luffy looked back at Law. "Oh, I forgot your name, what was it again?"

"That's Dr. Trafalgar, Luffy," Quinn told.

"Ah, doctor, right." He moved with Sanji back to their seats, not minding the front anymore from one moment to the other.

"What's with you?" Quinn asked Law. "You look uncomfortable."

"I _am_ uncomfortable."

"Are you so bad with kids?" He looked at her as when his gaze asked if she was serious with her question, made her rolling her eyes with a smile. "Well, why am I asking? You should consider spending time with kids more, it's the best way to understand them."

"I think I've got else to do."

"Oh Doc..." Quinn started slow and carried on with a laugh she was holding back with success. He frowned at her and she covered her lips with her fingers, giggling a bit. "I can't take your seriously on this chair."

"Miss Heady," Law said with a low sigh, "you don't make me wanna stay."

"Juuuust kidding."

"Toraooo!" Both adults turned their heads to the little black-haired boy.

"It's Dr. Trafalgar, Luffy," Quinn remarked, her undertone stern, what surprised the young man as he thought she wasn't able to show authority.

But even though, no one could teach that boy better. "Torao, look, I've drawn you!" He held up his picture.

"Luffy, it's _Dr. Trafalgar_." Leaning closer to Law without leaving the sight of that masterpiece, Quinn whispered, "you have to confess, even it's bad he hit the goatee and your sideburns."

"Oh, look!" Nami stated loud, "Robin drew him and Miss Heady! It's so good!"

Zoro leaned with folded arms nonchalant over the sketch of both adults holding hands, stating calmly, "she indeed portrait them well."

Usopp coughed, seeking for all his classmates attention that had gathered around them. "I don't wanna show off, but..." He popped up his picture that showed his teacher giving the guy a smooch on his cheek, unbelievable well-drawn for his age.

"Woaaah, that's pretty!"

Quinn blushed, looking mad at them. "What are you guys drawing...?!"

Usopp then looked at Luffy. "Wait, isn't Miss Heady your brother's wife?"

"I'm no one's wife...!"

Luffy looked back at him. "Huh? You mean Sabo?"

"Can you all please stop with this wife-thing and eat your lunch."

"Hm, that's what I at least remember."

Luffy laughed. "No. There was no wedding."

"Oh, okay."

She heard a low and quiet chuckle from the side. "You've got them well under control."

Glancing back to Law, she couldn't believe facing his stupid smirk. "This is only because of you, normally they don't do stuff like that...!" As he showed no more reaction than small amusement, smirking in his hand as he settled his arms on his leg, Quinn's eyelids sank. "Isn't it bothering you?"

"No, I shouldn't take kids too seriously, right?"

"You weirdo, stop laughing at me."

The young man got up from the chair. "Well, since I was asked to stay a little longer I'm gonna repark my car before I get a parking ticket." She watched him moving to the door, preparing for his final exit, when he glared over his shoulder with another smirk of his. "See you later, _wife_."

"What the..." Quinn narrowed her brows while her cheeks colored red. "See you, idiot."

"Woah, I wanna have a marriage like that too!" one of her female students stated in adoration.

"I'm not- ah, whatever."

* * *

And just as Quinn had said, those whole 15 minutes passed soon. While all students in the school building went to the next class, she brought some stuff into the teacher's room before heading outside to meet Law. Since he hadn't come back, she guessed he had put his car somewhere farther, thus waited for him in front of the back entrance on the stairs. Sitting around, looking to ground and watching ants, Quinn wondered if he hadn't just left without telling. Maybe he didn't feel like hanging out with her, but was too lazy to get back to let her know.

After five minutes, she got up and turned her head from left to right and to her front, trying to sight the guy, but couldn't find him. And other five minutes gone by, pulling her mouth corners slightly down as she was still standing alone.

Should she just go? But what if he would come when she just left? Or what if something happened to him? What if he got mugged? Or a car accident?! What if he was dead now?!

"You look really stupid when you gaze around like that."

Turning on her heels with a sarcastic smile, wondering why she even worried about that jerk, she sarcastically responded, "thank you. I didn't expect you to come back."

"And still, you were looking for me."

"A little hope's allowed, or not?"

"Sorry, I couldn't find a parking spot nearby and a few meters farther's a construction area, made the traffic harder."

Quinn somehow felt... relief. He was okay, it was nothing serious.

Law moved his eyes through the alleys nearby, hands nonchalant shoved into his pockets. "Where's this café now? I guess I need a coffee."

Excited, Quinn clapped her hands together. "Woaah, you have to try my favorite cappuccino there! It's so yummy and called Shooting Star. Isn't that cute?"

"Sounds sweet."

"Right?!"

"No, I mean: sweet."

Her excitement vanished with a quiet and disappointed, "oh, yeah, that too," but returned in goose step with a loud and vivid, "anyway, follow me!"

Looking after her as she head away, the wrinkles developed slightly on his forehead as he asked himself, _geez, why her?_

The café was just on the street around the corner, and his first thought described how much that cutesy little vintage design suited her. Law had never been the coffee-shop type but enjoyed his drinks preferable outside in the fresh air, alone. In general, outdoor was more his like, taking some relaxing walks; and as for why, he guessed it simply resulted from his long work hours indoor.

Quinn leaned on the bar, ordering, "two Shooting Stars, one with extra many sprinkles."

"Oi," Law interfered, "I didn't say I want one."

She turned her smiling face up to him. "I pay."

His eyes stayed on hers while he wasn't sure what face to make as he didn't plan on trying that drink while also he felt hard arguing against that stupid kindness. Would it be considered 'kind' if you felt urged to do it? However, knowing himself, in the end he would give in anyway, what would make a discussion only a time waste. Sighed under his breath, he turned to the staff with at least on favor to ask, "can you make mine less sweet?"

The staff chuckled a little. "We can try."

That response pulled his mouth corners down fast and his dissatisfied gaze back to his company.

Quinn was still smiling as she ensured, "you'll like it."

After she had paid, the two seated, they got served soon and Quinn munched with a long thin spoon from the cream-topping right away, treating that as her normal habit. She looked to her front, waiting eagerly for Law to try it.

He moved the glass carefully to his mouth, taking a few small sips before he looked back to sight some unpleasantness as Quinn obviously held another giggle while she stared at him. "What?" He could presume what came next.

She held her cheeks like an exaggerating parent that was seeing her child taking its first steps, trying to stay calm in her closed grin. "Lawdorable."

And his presumption was right.

He soon noticed the cream mark on his upper lip and wiped it with a napkin away. "4/10."

"What?! You aren't serious..." Quinn pouted her lips. "Sabo had given it 8.5."

"Well, I'm not Sabo."

"Yeah, that would be super scary. Like, I mean, there would be two Sabo's then, right? You know what? Theoretically, there must be a parallel universe with Sabo having dark hair. Or a Sabo that behaves like you. Or _a you_ that behaves like Sabo?!"

Law took another gulp after his brow over his lazy look swiftly twitched up. "We must be really different."

"Yap, you depict two types of people," Quinn told and looked to the side, pondering, "well, how should I say?" Her eyes stuck on him and regarded the guy up and down while she grasped her chin. "You're... the type to hit a woman if necessary, Sabo not."

Unimpressed about that example, he said, "I wouldn't know why I should differentiate in gender."

Quinn shrugged her shoulder with a silly smile. "Well, women are for most probably weaker than you."

"You make me sound like a monster."

"You _are_ a monster, forgot? Hehe." She leaned on her arms forward, not leaving his eyes but pointed her finger at him. "But don't worry, I told cha I had watched a documentary about you and know you're at least a 'fight-avoiding' monster."

"Peanut."

"Sooo different."

"Is this your final answer?"

"Ye..." Sudden uncertainty made her mouth corners drop fast. "No... yes...?"

Law bent forward too with one elbow settled, his chin on his hand, trying to match her eye-level more. "If you have a woman bitching around level 8, wittingly provoking a fight, but relaxed on the fact she's a woman that won't get beaten; versus a man bitching around level 6, but not necessarily asking for a fight and was just tangled into the conflict; whom should you rather fight?"

Quinn sat up straight, smiled and answered easily, "no one, you shouldn't fight."

"There's only A and B given."

"'and'"

" 'and' is no option."

She blew up her cheeks for a second. "But I don't wanna fight anyone."

"Peanut."

"Whom do you like more, Shachi or Penguin?"

"What?" He was somewhat irritated about the random counter. "What's that question?"

"There's only A and B given; don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"You can't compare both points," he stated, not amused.

"But it's the same," Quinn said, shrugging her shoulders one more with both hands lifted, palms showing to the top. "I can even ask, whom would you save if you can only choose one."

Law frowned a little at her as the comparison was still not in his like.

"Naw, it's so Lawdorable that you can't decide," Quinn said then before she mumbled to herself, "hey, I think I'm gonna make that a thing now."

Quietly, he took another gulp of his drink as no commentary was left.

"Oh my god. I was right and you not! I had the last word this time!" Quinn suddenly realized, big eyes darted at him. "Oh my-"

"And still, what you did was actually just escaping the question by comparing it to something personal that might proves your point, but instead of weaken rather ignored mine."

"I-" Her excitement lowered sightably. "...yes."

"So, whom would you rather fight?"

"... Touché."

Law leaned back on his chair, putting one leg over the other while his arm dangled from the backrest. "However, if you're so scared of me seeing you without clothes, I can fold my eyes too."

Not sure if she had heard correctly, she looked at him with small eyes. "What?"

"Just kidding."

Silence.

"...You're getting better with your jokes, but still not enough."

Still idle in his look, he asked, "would you believe me being able to do that?"

"Boy, you finished your master with 19."

"I'm just a human too."

"19."

He sighed, wondering why he was even considering arguing against her when it came to such irrelevance of personal opinions. That girl's head was hard as a stone, her worldview not replaceable.

Seeing him keeping quiet, probably exasperated about her unclear excuses, she touched her neck as her eyes drifted to the side. "It's not just the nude thing..."

His attention went back to her (not that it ever had left). "But the fact we could fail?"

"I'm super scared of surgery, and-and-and..." Quinn shrunk and poked her cheek while avoiding his stoic face. "Ahh, when I say that, you'll make fun of me again..."

"And?" Law repeated for her.

She took a deep breath and straightened, aiming her, with strain-made, confidence that was actually still covered in her nervosity. "Okay, promised not to laugh!"

"You have to be extra funny to get a laughter out of me," Law claimed, unexcited by her behavior.

Quinn tilted her body a little sideward; pointing with both fingers to her grinning face. "Am I not extra funny?"

No reply.

"Maaaan, just kidding!" She folded her arms, mumbling again, "there are people finding me funny..."

"And?" Law switched back to topic.

"Okay." Quinn took another deep breath, tapping with her fingers lightly a few times on the table while her legs shook in flurry. "I'll tell you." She locked eyes with him without a blink. "It's an open operation, right?"

"Right."

"Means you'll cut my chest open, right?"

"And remove your ribs."

"And at the end, you'll sew me together right?"

"Would be better."

"That means I'll have a super long ugly scar right there." She pointed along the middle of her torso.

"Peanut-"

"I don't want a super long ugly scar between my chest! What if I have to undress for intercourse and then it will be a super turn-off, and then I will never have a guy that likes me...!" As she noticed no response from his side but only those pair of gray eyes staring at her, not changed in any way but holding the emotionless reaction, she asked, "why don't you say anythi- ouch!"

Law drew his hand back from snapping her. "Never, ever, get to me again and tell me you're looking for someone that truly likes you."

Quinn rubbed the spot, being muzzled by his words since she knew how right he actually was.

"If you're worried so much about an unavoidable scar, only because you think-"

"I know I'm stupid, you don't need to say that," she stated quietly, staring to ground.

Law eyed how her exaggerated sagging mouth corners loosened, showing him a more real image of her mood. Being around with Quinn was an easy game as she clearly showed people what she felt and where the fun stopped. It wouldn't halt him from scolding or snapping her, but his words would be chosen more carefully.

Quinn looked back at him, her bright open eyes appearing so tired in a switch. Sometimes, she didn't understand herself. She knew in theory a lot about relationships and how her attraction to someone and vice versa was supposed to be in order to make things work; but for any reason, Quinn couldn't let go of the thought of any inner and outer flaws creating giant walls between her and her desired one. "Doc, I'm scared this with Sabo won't work out."

Law was surprised.

"Last time we went together to the fun fair, and he finally told me on his own he likes me. I guess I was the happiest girl alive for that moment, but... there must be a hook, right? When I think back to that day, I feel like it never happened, that everything was a dream my mind confuses with reality. This is too good to be true."

Why was she so... confidenceless again? How bad could their relationship be to breakup with someone that cared so much? "Good things will come to those who do good deeds."

She looked at him. Also surprised. It made her smile tenderly, a soft "Lawdorable," falling from her lips. "How can you say something so sweet with such dry expression?"

Law stuck for an answer. His try to hold the deep eye contact failed and he moved his eyes to her drink and then to the surface of the table. "Your drink's getting cold."

Quinn grabbed it, distracting herself from the gloom. "Well, guess what? This even tastes good cold." She raised it to her lips, almost drank all at once before putting it down with a relieved breathe out.

"Peanut."

"Hm?"

"You," Law's hand twitched when he restrained his reflexive move to wipe the cream away that attached on her nose tip, but instead pointed on it, "got there something."

She touched it and laughed, wiping it away. "Oh wow, I thought this only happens in movies. That cream topping's so amazing, look how long it lasts and it's so tasty. I wonder what their secret is..." Staring back at the guy, her face changed to wonder. "Say, anything wrong today or why you're constantly staring so silent?"

Whatever he felt that moment, for her or anything else, his face kept the constant of boredom. "My eyes are open and you happen to sit right in front of me."

"Oh well, fine," Quinn said, stretching her lips to a smile that didn't touch her eyes, "okay? Then, me too." She mimicked his expression and gestures, overdoing it a little with his monotonous way to talk so that she sounded more like a retard with low voice. "My name's Law Trafalgar, I'm staring so dead still because my eyes are open and happens to fix your face. Hi."

Law didn't comment on this and only finished his drink.

"Therefore it's just a four, you drank it well."

He raised a brow and put the empty glass down. "You paid for it, haven't you?"

"Would you also like a cake? Their apple pie's so goo-"

"No."

* * *

In the late evening when most of the folk were at home, not daring the dark streets outside, nor had any energy to go, also Law spent it the night in his own quarter. He moved the milky glass door of his shower to the side and stepped on the black ceramic tiles on the floor, hot steam gathered in the bathroom. The towel hung from his wet hair to his shoulder as he left the bathroom only in joggers, rubbing the mess a little dry.

Due to unnecessary ponder the whole day, he caused himself a headache that he didn't like to treat with any antibiotics. In fact, as a physician, Law wasn't a supporter of the intake unnatural goodies and always preferred for himself to stay away of those. A warm tea and some sleep dominated his health routine.

Quinn's 'peace gift' was still standing on his anthracite marble kitchen counter from where he picked a little bag of 'Good Night Tea'. It was actually just a herbal mix that supposed to calm the consumer before bed time, a function he didn't believe in. Law guessed she only bought that because she liked the name; no, he was sure about it.

Sitting on his bed, he leaned with his forearms on his legs while holding the tea cup, the aromatic mist raising to his face.

Law wondered if he was selfish.

Selfish for wishing her and her relationship no luck. His thoughts were divided as he didn't want her sad yet couldn't stand her relationship with Sabo. Honestly, he had felt like that for quite some time now, though he had never confessed it to himself; but seeing Quinn's insecurities today brought up his mixed feelings. Whenever things between her and Sabo wavered, no matter how small the issue seemed, Law grew that small hope they would fall apart, quitting his annoyance once for all. But then bad conscience plagued his mind when she looked at him with those pathetic eyes.

Yes, he thought he was selfish.

Staring at the little tag of his tea bag that hung from his mug, he sighed quietly and took a gulp. What was she doing with him?

* * *

 _ **A/N** : If it wasn't clear in the last part of the previous chapter: no, Law's not calling all the women he beds 'bitch'. At that moment he was just corrosively annoyed about his feelings for Quinn, and the women he slept with are for most quite the contrary to her, thus he started to look down on them._

 _Anyway, little survey: how long do you think Sabo and Quinn's relationship will hold :D?_

 _ **Guest(1)** \- I've started this story with Law being kind of an ass, and I want him to carry on with sort of this attitude since I see no reason for him to change completely that fast only because he got to know Quinn. Also because I have depicted that as kind of a trauma to his uni-time, which needs time to cure :) But I think it's a bit much to call him misogynistic, since the way I made him talk about or treat women is nothing like that, but rather just a common type of men. You know, here and there an unnecessary commentary about women cliches, else he's just a conceited guy to anyone regardless status or gender. Also, he's not a good guy, I would say he's rather 'not a bad guy' hahaha. However, don't worry, I wouldn't make Quinn falling for this side of him; she can also only stand him (or like him) because she knows his good sides (all-in-all he's treating her pretty different to anyone else). Thanks for the review :)_

 _ **KagomeUchiha101** \- Sweet haha_

 _ **skypineapples33** \- aw, thanks for the long review and compliment :)! I'm glad my story could convince you to carry on reading it. Yeah, I've got the feeling I might have hit a few readers regarding the Judy/Law bed thing, which is kinda funny as I'm sort of a clean-freak too, but you interpreted the reasons right. To the slowburn: I was unsure about it first as well, since I know that this story will really takes lots of time and I'm usually a person that do hard finishing big projects (even this had started out as something small). I also uploaded this story in February (same months as the story itself was set) and happened to updated somewhat parallel to our running months, but stuck in June due to work; but since I wanna catch up for fall and Christmas, I'm currently pretty motivated to write (hope  you won't abandon this until then X'D). And especially all the positive feedback keep me on the road! I put a lot of time into their relationship development, so it would be pretty unsatisfying for myself if Law and Quinn wouldn't reach their climax (uuhhh, pun was kinda intended LOL). However, I, too, think misogynistic is a bit much, but I'm glad to see that my jerk-Law made you feeling defensive over him XD Sorry for the long reply and yus, Levi's super cool :3_

 _ **Yakimeni** \- haha, yeah it is. Thank you, glad you liked it :) Yup, somehow, somewhere it will happen, but we all need Law/Quinn, and I honestly miss it to give them more interaction like at the begin of this story._

 _ **Guest(2)** \- No, you didn't miss anything about her job, the story hasn't told much about it yet :) But it's nice to hear (or read) that someone pays attention to little stuff like that too, thank you. Well and to your idea: it would've been a cliched (or destined? hehe), but funny solution if she would've left the town hahaha._


	40. Falls and flaws

**40\. Falls and flaws**

"Yo Cap, how was work?"

"Gone by surprisingly fast. Did you make good progress?"

Shachi nodded while his eyes and those of his friends followed Law, who just got inside the bar, taking place next to him in the booth. "Yeah, since Pen's getting better day by day, we're working a lot faster."

Weeks had it been since the bunch gathered in the bar, let alone spent the evening together after the long work days that kept them all busy. One person was missing though, and Law noticed it right away, his head turned subtly around to check for the last piece.

"You're looking for blondie?" Judy asked, who sat across, holding her glass. "She couldn't make it today."

He kept quiet, trying to ignore her comment that almost sounded like a warning.

"Ah, but she said she'd drop by later," Penguin told.

"Why, is there something?'' asked Shachi.

He didn't deny that he had been looking for her, though it had happened unwittingly, but it would be probably best to take it as normal, not making a fuzz out of it. "No, I was just wondering."

Shachi sighed out loud. "These days, we see each other so rarely."

"Yeah, we have to take more holidays and get out of town together," his mate added. All three heads turned to Law, giving him the exact same stare of their awareness of his sort of workaholic-syndrome.

"I'll think about it."

"At least only for a weekend!" Shachi stated. "You deserve it, Cap!"

It was already surprising that Law had taken the day off at the beginning of this month only to help Shachi with the renovation of his shop; but with that, hope came along so that the two, that knew their friend to be a rare example of a hard-working man, put more effort into convincing him. Something they thought to had given up forever, since Law was always acting to his own words and nobody's else. They were careful though with their requests and hadn't even thought of asking him for today's renovation, even they saw it rather as a fun time together (and for Shachi of course appreciable help), but they knew it was still work after all that they didn't want to bother the guy with.

However, their attention to him shifted away as they saw Quinn moving toward their table. She held a basket in her hands while her shoulder carried her handbag, made the young woman appearing somewhat packed and tired.

"Hey, people," said she, "I'm so sorry I couldn't help today. The teachers' seminar took a little longer and was a little outside town, but hey, I had made some muffins for a student's birthday and a few are left if you-" Cutting herself off by the sight of Law, she glared at him, surprised. "Huh? Trafalgar was helping too? Oh, now I feel bad to be the only who hadn't."

"Law just came, don't worry," Shachi remarked before his attention drew to the bakery she carried. "But those muffins look great!"

"Ah, I see." Quinn sat down next to Judy. "Naw, thank you. Here just take one if you want."

She put the basket in the middle of the table and all hands extended, grabbing for one. Except for _him_ , of course.

Quinn looked at Law, who sat quietly on the other side with folded arms, not twitching a muscle. "You don't want?"

"No thanks."

Penguin enjoyed his chocolate muffin so much that he even interfered with full mouth. "But they're really good!"

"Thank you," Quinn said, smiling.

"I had enough sweetness for this month, I pass, but thanks," Law responded.

Thinking back to the week before as they sat in the cute café together, a wry smile formed out of Quinn's lips. "I'm sorry..."

"Why you're sorry?" Judy wanted to know.

"I told him to try a Shooting Star and he didn't like it."

She raised slightly a brow. "Well, that one's indeed quite sweet. Didn't know though that you two spent time together without the squad."

"Ah, he just visited me at work and I had a long break, so."

Holding the glass close to her lips, already tipped, she moved her eyes back to the young man. "Visit at work, huh?"

Law looked away and claimed, "that was a doctor call..."

"Huh? What was wrong with her?" Penguin asked worried.

"Anyway." Quinn got up as she didn't feel like talking about it. One scold was enough, she didn't need Judy's or the questioning faces of the other two. "I go to the front, buying something to drink."

Moving away and leaving the rest of the bunch clueless, Judy looked back at Law. "You don't wanna go to? You hadn't ordered either."

Her question was more sarcastic, but provoking to him so that it got him respond, "guess what." He got up and left for the front as well.

"Hey wait-" Judy slightly rolled her eyes, irked by his decision.

"What's with you two?"

She looked at the other two guys that were staring at her in mild confusion, thus she reacted with cocked head, saying, "I don't know what you mean," and exed her drink.

...

Up to the bar, Law saw Quinn had already taken place on a bar stool while washing her eyes over the drink menu. The sequence was familiar to him, he had found her like that once already, and he wouldn't change the way to approach her. "Cocktail maybe?"

Quinn's eyes got small, and stiffly she sensed Law's face over her shoulder, trying to calm her heart. "Kill me already."

Nonchalant, he took the seat next to her. "How can you still startle by this?"

"How can you still do this?" Quinn asked back. "Imagine I'll take a self-defense class and one day reflexively punch you."

"That's not quite how self-defense work."

"I startle and think I'm in danger, so yeah.

A light smirk grew back on his stoic face and he took the drink menu out of her hands as if he knew it wouldn't bother her that he had a look at it himself without asking. Indeed, Quinn just let him do, but regard his action with sharp eyes.

"Those faces, it's been a while," another voice got between them.

She turned her face to see the bartender halting in front of them, what put a smile on her lips and her hands raised to a sweet high five. "Milooo!"

Milo returned the soft clasp with a friendly chuckle.

"Busy these days," Quinn told and took the drink menu in Law's hand back as he wasn't looking at it anymore anyway, his attention drawn to the man behind the bar. "Uhhh, I'd like to have a Ginger Ale."

"One Ginger Ale for mademoiselle." Milo crouched down and got a bottle, opened it and put a straw inside before placing it in front of her. His look changed over to her company, asking less joyful, "and?"

"Same."

He gave the guy what he wished, putting it quietly in front of him.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Nipping on her straw, she glared at both men in turn. 'What's wrong with you? You always seem so alert, Milo."

"I'm fine, just serving my regulars," he claimed and headed away.

Still in question, Quinn looked at Law to see Milo's response had tug another smirk on his face. He took the bottle and stirred with the straw casually the content. "I think he doesn't like me."

"I don't get how you can smirk to that," Quinn said. "I mean, I'm not puzzled why he wouldn't, but still. I can't imagine someone doesn't like me, that's so childish."

"I see, everyone likes Miss Peanut?"

Her cheeks turned a little pink. "That's not what I mean...! I mean, either I get along with people or they don't care... I wouldn't know how to act towards someone that hates me, and if I could accept that or try to make things at least 'okay'... The concept of not liking someone's so childish, we're adults now, so we shouldn't care if someone's acting not in our like..."

Law leaned his head on his fist while his body was turned to her, his sly smile facing the girl. Of course, actively disliking someone was so childish, someone like her would never dislike someone; that was his sarcastic thought, thinking back to a few months.

She narrowed her brows with a teensy blush, unable to follow his mind. 'What now?!"

"It's pretty late, when do Judy and you plan to head home?"

"Uhm, I won't stay for long. Sabo, Luffy and I gonna pick up their brother from the airport in two hours."

His brow rose in interest. "Another brother?"

"Yeah, his name's Ace and I think he's the same age as Sabo. It's been awhile that he's home, but now he's gonna stay for a month or so, printing his photo book, so cool."

"Another one who's traveling?"

She nodded. 'He's a backpack traveler and photographer."

"You're amazed easily by extravagant stuff," Law said, sucking from his straw.

"You not?" she asked, but then remembered, "right, 'cause you're extravagant yourself. A senior doctor with 25."

"Is that extravagant to you?"

"Not the same as Sabo maybe, but yeah, of course. Most become just official doctors at the age of at least 30, and you top it with your skills." She cocked her body, smiling with the bottle in one hand while the other held her straw. "Ouh man, I feel so unspecial beside you guys, how can someone like Sabo date someone like me?"

"Yeah, how."

"Don't make fun of me."

"Flaw number five, low confidence."

"My confidence is not low!" Quinn said and squeezed her eyes. "And why the hell do you remember the number?"

"Well, sometimes," he added, ignoring her question. Seeing her pursing her lips in huff, he then asked, "would you consider yourself a good artist?"

Quinn looked up and thought about it, her face seeming uncertain about the answer. "Well, good..., I dunno, calling yourself good isn't right... I think it's... okay..."

"Would you consider yourself pretty?"

Shyly, she poked one side of her cheek, staring to the bar counter while she subtly sucked her lower lip in thoughts. "Well, pretty..., I dunno, calling yourself pretty's weird... I think I'm not ugly, but pretty is so subjective..."

"Would you consider yourself a good teacher?"

Her face darted back at him. "Yeah, I am."

"One out of three, see, 'sometimes'."

 _Or I'm just modest._ On face level Quinn pointed three fingers into air, adding another one. "Your flaw number four, smart-assing."

"Should I better dumb-ass?"

"What's that question? This leads to nothing!"

He let go of his bottle and put his hand against his face again, supporting his head. "Flaw number seven, always complaining."

"If you give me things to complain," she told, mirroring his posture idly.

"Nag, nag, nag."

Quinn put her hands up, saying in bored tone, "your flaw number... uhh where was I? Five? Five... Five! Your flaw number five, always thinking to be right." She stretched all fingers on one hand, holding it close to his face.

Law took it easy with a lazy smile. "I know I'm right."

"Sure you are," she deadpanned. "What's my favorite food?"

If he remembered correctly... "Sushi."

"Errrrgh, wrong," she said, pointing her finger to him with a side note, "but I know a great sushi place, if you ever wanna eat great sushi, go to 'SUSHI exclamation mark', it's the best."

Again, Law ignored her additional babbler and answered flatly only to the main reply, "then I don't know."

"See, you're not always right!" she said with a snap. "My favorite food's potato pancakes with applesauce, hehe."

"I never said my guesses are always right. Flaw number eight, smart-assing."

Quinn hung over the counter again, half-lidding her eyes. "You're the worse smart-asser."

"That could be, but simply because I tend to be right," he stated one more as if it was a fact.

"Oh, suddenly, you _tend_ to be right?"

"Peanut."

"Holy crap..." Quinn mumbled while her head lifted from her palm, froze eyes glaring at him like something brightened her mind all of a sudden. "Did you notice that your last sentence just reflected all aforementioned flaws of you"

"Flaw number nine, always drifting off topic."

"Heeey, it's about flaws, it's not off topic!" she said, but only received a twitching brow in return, telling her his disagreement. "Your flaw number six, too proud to admit being wrong."

"Flaw number ten, tend to state false things."

"Number six wasn't false but my observation." Straightening, she looked at him with a smile. "I bet I can guess your favorite food."

Only beholding at her quietly, Law gave her the sign to do as she pleased.

"Onigiri."

"Right," he said, but pretty unimpressed about it. "Way too easy though as to be able to be proud of."

Her brows furrowed and her mouth corners lowered as she didn't understand what he meant. "Hey, you guessed mine wrong and I guessed right."

"There are so many food variations on the world, you can't expect me to guess right when I haven't heard potato pancakes with applesauce in connection with you ever."

Quinn gritted her teeth and miffly pulled her mouth corners deep down, defeated by his argument.

"Flaw number eleven, being nonsense," said he.

"Meh..."

"I can give you a fair chance. Guess my second favorite dish."

Illustrating her unfair logic with such example made her feeling like he thought of her as stupid, since she already had understood before he tried to elucidate it again for slow minds. However, banting back was an unnecessary act of defiance, so she decided to leave that out, though hardly. "...Touché."

He smiled satisfied, his arrogant and proud gaze pushed straight into her face; but Quinn got used to it, so she slowly didn't care what grimace he made. "But I wanna guess though! Uuuuhm, bread?"

Law showed himself unamused.

"Just kidding," she said with an eye roll, snickering a little to his uptightness before she continued with her thoughts, "uhm, well... yeah... hm... I dunno..."

"Guess," Law said, sounding almost like an order.

"Too many options..." She stared pensive into space until her focus moved back to Law, seeing him staring at her calmly but somehow conceited in his right. "Yeah-yeah, it's okay, I already said you're right."

He breathed out relaxed, smiling lazily at her. "Oh Miss Heady..."

She took a short gulp through her straw, putting it back on the surface and said in conviction with a played snooty attitude, "your flaw number seven, always wants the last word."

"I've given you your chance," he said and Quinn ignored the past tense of his sentence, starting to guess without hesitation.

"Pasta!"

"No."

"Meat!"

"No."

"Salad!"

"No."

"Fish!"

His languid face displayed small displeasure as she guessed closer than he had expected, made him forcing himself to hint, "almost..."

"Grilled fish!"

She saw the little twitch between his eyes that questioned in dissatisfaction how the hell she had guessed this of all possible answers right. Quinn had a quite simple answer for that:

First she thought about the food she could remember to see him had eaten first, which was Judy's deadly pasta dish that irritated her tongue. When people like a special pasta dish, they tend to like pasta in general, so she could minimize her options. But being wrong, she guessed another general food type, meat, that lots of people enjoyed consuming, chances to hit anything specific was bigger when he first confirmed. Changing the food group again, as she failed one more, was easy since the opposite of meat was for the average mind always vegetables. Vegetables led to vegetarians, which then led to salad. Between meat eater and none, there were her kinds - the pescetarians, who one of course connected first with fish, thus another subgroup of food.

"You cheated," Law alleged.

Well, it was a fluke though, since she would have needed more luck if his second favorite dish would be something extremely exotic.

"What? Me a cheater?" Quinn said in exaggerated appall, placing her hand to her chest while her body cocked. With another eyeroll, she loosened her stiff posture and laughed. "I just thought about the super delicious grilled fish from my favorite sushi restaurant. Ohh! Seriously, you have to try that then when you like grilled fish, it's soooo good! I promise! You're going to luuuuv it! And also- oh wait, did I just guess right? I guessed right, right?!"

"Yeah, you did."

"Woah, I should play lotto. Or rather LAWtto." Quinn laughed, and Law didn't feel like laughing. She pushed his shoulder lightly, trying to get hold of herself. "Oh boy, don't be so uptight. Did you know that your name's the perfect base for puns? Like woah, that's awesome, I love it! Anyway, I also guessed the profession of your first time right, ahh, I should've bet for money with you, damn it... well, maybe next time. Just tell me when you wanna bet again, I love bets, or well, I slowly start to like them. Ahh, no, this is bad for my Karma, I bet I've lost my luck just now as I said I love it..., hey, you get it? 'I bet I've lost my luck'... Buh-dum, tss!"

"Flaw number twelve, the waterfall."

"If it would be a waterfall, I would only say water water water water water wa- I'm sorry..." She grinned sheepishly downward. "I-I really try to control it but, when I start to talk about something, it just goes wooosh, like woah! Mind attack, and it's just my flow. You know?" Her lids sank and she expressed relaxation like being stoned, making waves with her hand. "Flooow, relaxing and like a water stream in a river, flooow."

"Flaw number thirteen, talking incomprehensible."

Quinn turned back to normal in a slap. "Oh c'mon, that wasn't incomprehensible, you just turned off your brain."

"May be."

"See, you even admitted it. Somehow..." Taking a deep breath, her lips curled with no touch on her widened eyes as she had her next point. "Your flaw number, where was I? Ah, seven. Always making stupid allegations."

"Flaw number fourteen, always in defense," Law countered right away.

She sighed and her cheek sagged into her palm again. "Don't you think you've listed enough?"

"Flaw number fifteen, doing things, but annoyed when other do the same."

Her brows narrowed to confusion. "Now you haven't listed a flaw but something I just did. And you started with the flaw-thing first anyway."

"Flaw number sixteen, always nagging."

"Ehh, see? You already got that."

"Flaw number seventeen, smart-assing."

"And that too! Don't you get bored with that?" she said. "Idiot."

"Flaw number eighteen, being rude."

"I'm not rude! Okay, maybe a bit... I'm sorry... No, I'm not!"

Law smirked with relaxed eyes. "Flaw number nine-"

"Staaahp."

"-teen. Interrupting others."

"What the? Seriously?" she asked with query eyes, almost speechless about his weird improvisation. "Your flaw number eight, being annoying in general."

"Flaw number twenty, being annoying in general."

Quinn grinned sarcastically. "Am I allowed to slap you?"

"Flaw number twenty-one, tending to violence."

She raised her open hand, slap-ready, not ceasing her tensed grinning expression. "I really do."

"Flaw number twenty-two, threatening."

"Ohh, I will do so hard."

He didn't even look at her hand but was still deeply locked to her eyes, while the glare of his chilled mockery smiled at her. "Flaw number twenty-three, barking but not biting."

Her sarcastic face changed soon to annoyance. "I'll totally bite you!"

"Flaw number twenty-four, hiding sexual fetishes."

Slight color hovered over her cheeks. "What?! Im not- You're twisting my words!"

"Flaw nu-"

She pushed herself up, leaning a little forwards to him with one foot on her footrest while her knee pressed against his chair between his legs, both her hands clasping his mouth shut, folded over each other. "Pssssht, idiot!"

"Hmh...hnnhh."

She shook her head. "I won't let you talk."

"Hnnhmmn."

"Nope."

"Hnnnnn."

Giving in then as she could anticipate him not to stop his nonchalant mumble underneath her palm, she lifted it from his lips and asked him tired sounding, "what?"

"I'm falling."

Quinn needed a moment to realized what he actually meant, but noticing then that his torso was in an unsteady angle, actuaply fighting strainless against gravity - if there wasn't the bar stool's balance that failed in keeping him up. Feeling his fall as she had leaned lightly against him, her buttocks already had left her own seat, she reflexively grabbed his shoulders to prevent him from falling. The stool lost its balance though and she glared shocked into his face that didn't show much reaction as he was within the fall, treating it like the most casual thing while she happened to pull herself with him as she panicky tried to avoid what she had caused.

Within seconds the two bumped on the hard dark brown parquet, a loud dash of the stool noising from the spot.

Hearing that, Milo rushed to the scene, looking over the bar counter to the ground. "Are you alright?" The two had caught gazes from the bar visitors by the turmoil they had made.

On her knees Quinn pushed her upper body up carefully, but right away, her hands pressed against Law's chest while her eyes darted to Milo to ensure him she was alright. "Uhh, everything's alright, nothing happened, just an accident." The fall wasn't as bad as she had thought, Quinn could swear for a moment that her torso had been protectively wrapped as her eyes and mind had gotten swiftly rigid during the second they had been falling.

"Don't you wanna get down from me?" Law asked as he was still lying with his back on the floor, staring into her face while she was kneeling above his legs, pretty much taking her time.

"I-I'm sorry!" she said, blushing and jumped to the side immediately. "Oh god, are you hurt?! I didn't mean to! Sooorry." Falling on him was another level of closeness she had never shared with him, made it somewhat weird for her. Though she had been partly absent during her brief shock, her more awake part of her mind had acknowledged Law's physical features as she had lain on top of him unwillingly. His front side was just as trained as she remembered his back side to had been when she recalled the night she had shifted him out of her apartment. What her little sensitive nerves on the end of her hands had sensed was definitely what she remembered his torso to look like.

Realizing what she was thinking, she pushed herself another meter farther from the guy without delay and crossed herself with her hand. _I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...! This was just an accident, we're just friends...! Forgive me for my naughty thoughts!_

Law pushed himself up with his arms. "Flaw number twenty-five, troublemaker."

"Oaah, seriously, flaw number nine, bad balance!"

Penguin came around the corner as he wanted to check on the two, who seemed to had disappeared for quite a while from their table, therefore that it was just for ordering. He looked surprised down to the both figures, sitting on the floor as they were arguing with each other. "Oi, Law, Quinn, what are ya doing on the ground?"

Law's attention wandered over to his companion, stating simple, "she pushed me down."

"That's not true!" Quinn said, giving Penguin an innocent and frustrated look.

Whatever conflict there was, he ignored and treated it as a casual thing, since he was aware of their little banters now and then. "You two were taking pretty long, we were waiting for ya guys."

Both got up, Quinn straightening her clothes and wiped the dirt from her knees. "I'm sorry, I had an unnecessary conversation with a," she shot Law a sharp look who was standing to her right, "waterfall."

Law walked off to the direction of their table, unconcerned. "Me too."

...

"Everything alright?" Shachi asked as the trio got back to the table.

"Found the two together on the floor," Penguin said.

Quinn's gaze rushed immediately over to the guy and on her mad face developed another little blush. "Penguin...! That sounds totally wrong!" Staring at Law to also check his reaction, she only saw what she could have expected. "And why are you smirking again?!" Whatever happened, Law always begot only three basic emotions what meant seeing him disinterested, amused or pissed.

But when Judy commented calmly in her sarcasm, "yeah, why?" he withdrew his little smirk.

They sat back down together, trying not to mind their previous absence anymore and kept the interaction going with random subjects to talk about. Only Judy was glaring at Law, questioning his decisions regarding her girl friend. He couldn't avoid seeing the criticism in her eyes, but didn't bother to response to that with more than ignorance.

Judy sighed under her breath as she gave up on that situation, her eyes caught right away by Quinn who sat with her cellphone in grip, which she turned on briefly every few minutes. "You keep checking your phone, huh?"

"Sabo's gonna pick me up later, I'm just don't wanna miss a text message or so," she replied.

Somewhat disappointed, Penguin said, "you're leaving again?"

"Are you coming back?" his mate added.

"I don't think so. I'm sure it'll be super late and Ace tired from his flight. And we also have Luffy with us," she told and her eyes rushed over the screen again. "Oh, he texted me!" After reading it, she got up and hung her bag over her shoulder, grabbing the handle of the basket she had carried before. "I'm going now, you want some more muffins? Or else I take the rest with me."

Penguin and Shachi didn't hesitate to take another muffin before she moved with the left-overs outside.

"There she leaves us again, our pumpkin in love," Shachi commented as the group watched her leaving, his cheek hanging from his fist. "She made me wanna be in a relationship too."

"You just called her pumpkin; you made it, food as a nickname," Penguin remarked.

"Oh, true. Quinn the pumpkin."

"More like Pumquinn."

"Peanut, Marshmallow, Pumpkin," Judy listed, half-annoyed, "what's with you guys?"

They looked at her, Penguin asking, "why not? You want a nickname too?"

Unamused, she shot him her narrowed eyes, made Shachi joking, "Judy the moody."

"I give you a moody...!" Judy threatened with a fist.

He flinched back, shielding himself with his hands. "Judy the rudy...!"

"Rudy's not even a word, it's just 'rude'," she responded with half-lidded eyes.

"Judy the teachy."

"Boy, you seriously wanna fuck with me?" said she, her voice monotone, but clearly annoyed.

Interpreting things wrong for a second, the two blushed and Shachi left another stupid commentary that sneaked from his lips carefully. "Judy the nudy...?"

"Oh geez..." Judy rolled her eyes. "Seriously?'

"I mean, you said f-"

And slapped across his face.

"Ouch..." He held his aching and red cheek, rubbing it and looked over to his mate, who had twitched back as he had scared up by the sudden attack.

'Did I say something stupid?' Shachi's confused face asked him, only to get a nod from his side that claimed, 'very.'

* * *

"Sabobobo!" Quinn called out in joy as she got inside the big family-friendly car that parked in front of the bar.

"Hello Miss Heady!"

"Luffy," she said and looked at the backseat where the boy was settled smiling, "looking forward to see your other big brother?"

"Oh yeah!"

Quinn fastened her seat belt after putting her bag and the basket down on her feet.

"You alright? You look tired," Sabo asked, watching her with his hands on the wheel.

"Yeah, just had a stressful day, but else I'm fine!" She lifted the basket again, putting it onto her lap. "Oh and I made some muffins for a birthday today, you want some?"

She took one out and Sabo's eyes sparkled at it. "Woah, they look good!"

"I want some too!" Luffy said impatiently, but was happy as he had received one.

The two ate it then and Sabo drove off with the little cake in his hand, occasionally taking a bite, though with his appetite one was gone in a few bites so that Quinn had to feed him with a new one in small intervals. Good that she had made A LOT. The boy behind them was even worse, but Quinn didn't allow him to eat that much, especially sweets, around the current time.

"Where did you get the car from?" she wanted to now, checking the inside curiously.

"It's Dadan's," Sabo answered, made her feeling stupid since she should had known that.

The ride to the airport was not too long and lay a little outside of the town, but surely no more than 40 minutes away. It was quite relaxing to rush over the darker-getting highway in the quiet, but cozy car; together with her boyfriend that enjoyed her bakery. Though Luffy destroyed the atmosphere now and then, but else she felt comfortable. It almost felt like being a married couple with a child in the back, a thought that was too much for Quinn to digest, thus she tried with all effort to forget about that fantasy. However, Sabo didn't show himself excited and in big joy as the little boy did but behaved calm and casual like every (good) day. They didn't even speak much, but she was okay with that too, since you had to be born as the type for chats during the ride (Judy was for example also a quieter person).

"Have you ever been abroad?" suddenly he started a conversation, probably developed from his thought on his traveling brother.

"No," Quinn said. "I mean, I was raised in the city, but really abroad? Not that I know."

"There're many beautiful places out there, you should consider seeing them live one day."

She smiled and agreed. "I definitely wanna get out of town this year, maybe for holidays or so."

And maybe with him together.

...

At the small airport, air-conditioned and packed with people, the three headed to the spot where all the travelers would exit first. It was not long until Ace's plane would land, or perhaps he was already on ground and only needed to get through the security control. Luffy leaned over the barrier, being all jittery and exciting to see the awaited guy.

"You're also excited?" Quinn asked Sabo as he stood next to ber with folded arms.

He gave her a small smile. "Kinda. While Luffy hasn't seen him in two years, I haven't in four."

"What, really?" Quinn asked surprised. "Haven't you been home a few times?"

"I did, but our stay never intersected."

"Oi, there's Ace!" Luffy shouted and jumped in joy, waving at the person. "ACE! We're here!"

Another young man found his way into that town, and he waved back, walking with his big luggage on his back over to them with joyful laughter. "Hey!'

Quinn looked up to Sabo to check his reaction and he seemed a little tensed, but in positive sense.

Then Ace faced Sabo, only a tiny bit shorter than the blonde, freckles spreading across his cheeky face. They grinned at each other, clearly sightable that they haven't seen one another for years, before they gave a strong clasp of hands, falling into each others arm.

"Welcome back home," Sabo said, "how are you?"

Their smiles didn't falter a bit, the one-armed-hug so brotherly that emphasize how much they actually had missed each other and couldn't wait for that reunion.

Ace patted his back. "Your hair got long, almost like a princess."

Sabo laughed. "Am I a pretty princess at least?"

"Nah, not my type."

"Ace!" Luffy shouted up at the guy, seeking his attention too.

He turned to the boy and squatted down, lifting his hand to a high five matching his height. "Oi Luffy, you didn't grow a bit."

"Hey, I did! I measured that!" Luffy claimed and didn't return the gesture.

Ace laughed and pushed himself up, with the hand on the boy's head after receiving no high-five back. "What, seriously? You still look like a dwarf."

"It's good to see you again, how was the flight?" Sabo asked.

"You don't know how good it feels to _stand_ again," he answered, looking down his feet and shook his legs one after another.

"I wanna fly too! This must be so cool!" Luffy stated.

"Maybe when you're taller."

"Hey!"

"I've got the feel he'll stay small forever," Sabo joined his tease, made Ace carrying on.

"Forever little brother. Hey, is he still such a crybaby?"

"When I'm older, I'll be twice as tall as you two together!"

The two elders exchanged looks after his ridiculous statement and started to hold their giggles, Luffy jumping and complaining madly until they burst out in laughter.

"Oh, by the way," Sabo said and turned over, introducing with his open hand, "Ace, this is Quinn."

Quinn was dead still.

"Quinn?"

Smiling, Ace walked up to her and extended his hand. "Hey, I'm Ace. Pleasure to meet you, Sabo has told me a lot about you."

She didn't look at it, but shook it slowly while her eyes were frozen on him. "H-he did?"

"Only positive things," Ace claimed and she blushed, moving her eyes over to Sabo.

"You got nothing negative on you," Sabo explained.

Quinn couldn't quit blushing and in order to hide it, she sank her face to ground, still shaking Ace's hand unnecessarily long. "I'm Quinn... pleasure to meet you too..."

Ace looked at Sabo. "You haven't told me she's shy."

"No, it's just... I'm confused..." Quinn stated quietly, and earned confused stares herself. Narrowing her eyes as if in suspicion, she slid her eyes slowly from his feet back up to his face. "I thought it's cold up there at night, why's he shirtless?" Quinn didn't understand where all those young, handsome and athletic guys were coming from. With his black long messy hair and those cute freckles, Ace was the type Judy would try to seduce if there wasn't Law. She was sure she would have even tried Sabo, if there wasn't _her_.

Staring down at his hand, still held by her, she drew back immediately and got embarrassed. "Oh, I'm sorry!"

Ace's eyes turned small as he laughed. "Guess I'm just cold resistant."

"You must be like hot fire," she said, but tried to correct her word choice instantly when she noticed how awkward that sounded, "I-I'm sorry...! I didn't mean- No, not hot like-, not that you're not-, I mean-, no...! Fire's hot!" Glaring widely with her eyes, she took a deep breath and tried to calm, setting an end to her babble. "Yes, fire's a hot element...!"

The brothers looked at her, silently.

"I'm so sorry..." Quinn buried her face into Sabo's chest. "Please don't think wrong of me, I'm not always like that..."

He chuckled amused and put his hand around her head, stroking it. "It's alright, just be yourself."

It must have been a talent of hers to always fail with the first expression in front of any good-looking guy. She didn't even know why his arrival turned her shy anyway; perhaps because he wasn't what she had expected.

Returned the car on their way home, Quinn sat with Luffy in the back while the little boy had fallen asleep, snoring. She didn't participate much in the conversation between the guys at the front, but enjoyed seeing how much Sabo bloomed within their lovely and funny interaction. Like real brothers, they talked, and even she had no clue how they had behaved in front of each other then, she thought it was easy to speak of 'like the old times' though; that was how she had imagined them to had been too in younger years. Ace made the guy appearing suddenly so different to what she knew from him. His laughs and smiles, such as his jokes and teasings, they were more sincere.

More sincere...

Quinn's smile vanished slowly, and she stared at Sabo's face. Yes, Sabo seemed different. She knew how he sounded and looked like when doing all things mentioned before; but why did she feel betrayed all of a sudden. Because she sensed allegedly another vibe? Maybe she was interpreting things wrong? What reason would he have anyway to date her when she couldn't make him happy? The more she thought about it, getting deeper into the negativity, she ridiculed herself for worrying so much about relative issues that perhaps only she saw. It must have been her fear to fail this relationship from his side, something not appropriated after his confession at the fun fair. It suddenly felt like that she was the one treating him wrong, not giving him a chance but still questioned his feelings.

"You alright?"

Her eyes snapped back as Sabo was looking over his shoulder with a smile while the car stood in front of a red streetlight. Quinn nodded.

"Are you tired? Should I drive you home?"

She shook her head immediately. "No-no, I'm super awake!"

"Great, tell me when you need something. You're not cold, right?"

Smiling, she shook her head again. "I'm not; thanks."

He faced the front again and drove off as the lights allowed.

Now Quinn was sure she had been seeing nonsense. Sabo was lovely like always.

...

"Oh my god, Ace! You never call home you brat, we were so worried!"

"I- Ow!" Ace grabbed his head as Dadan had hit it, angry yet happy in her worry all the time he had been gone. "Why do you hit me?"

"I told you: CALL - HOME!"

"Dadan, when's food ready?" Luffy asked, walking through the house carefree and loaded with new energy after his nap in the car.

"Half an hour, then you can eat," she told.

The three boys looked at her, shook by her answer. "Half an hour?!"

"Yes, you better bring your stuff up instead of pouting like babies," Dadan told, strictly with the wooden spoon in her hands. "Except for Luffy, he should clean the mess in the living-room and- Miss Heady?"

Standing farther in the back, the girl smiled awkwardly and lifted a hand as the woman finally spotted her. "Uhm... good evening."

"Huh, what are you doing here?" Dadan asked in confusion and surprise.

"Well, I... uhm..." Quinn's eyes searched for Sabo's support, who suddenly felt awkward himself and wasn't sure about the response. Looked like Dadan had no clue about their relationship yet.

"Miss Heady and Sabo are dating each other.," Ace told nonchalant and the two blushed slightly, staring with big eyes at him, muted. He looked at them in turn and grinned with confidence. "Someone needs to drop it."

Dadan moved over to Sabo, raising the spoon in her hand. "You're dating this boy's teacher," she pointed at Luffy, "and you haven't told me?!"

"I- Ow!" Sabo shrunk and held the spot she just hit. "I'm sorry...!"

While the woman started a lecture, scolding the guy, Quinn standing to his left and apologizing with bows even she had no fault in anything, Luffy looked up at Ace. "Huh? What is dating?"

"Miss Heady's Sabo's girlfriend. They're in love."

"Huh? Miss Heady and Sabo?" Luffy displayed even more confusion, tilting his head closer to his shoulder. "I thought Miss Heady's Torao's wife."

"Torao?" Ace repeated with both brows rose.

"Nh. He came to our class last time and visit her. Nami had said he's her husband."

Though talking quietly beside the loud woman, Sabo couldn't help but heard their little word exchange as well that captured his quiet gaze.

A quick moment later, the soup started to cook over, alerting Dadan with a loud sizzle, thus she stopped her lecture and rushed into the kitchen so that Sabo made used of it and escaped from the spot with the other two up into their room. Luffy the poor had to stay downstairs, cleaning his stuff in the living-room, but eventually hadn't even noticed their disappearance anyway.

Ace was surprised how the room hadn't changed from the last time he had seen it. Only around the desk area, he found lots of stuff from Sabo's work, but else it was the same boyish room they had resided in for years back to their childhood days.

Taking place on the lower bunk bed, which was Sabo's, he chilled down on his back and breathed out his relaxation.

"Ah, I think I should get down to Dadan or she'll get even more wrinkles," Sabo said, pointing with his thumb to the door behind him. "Be right back. Don't miss me you two."

"The hell I will," Ace commented.

"I miss you alreadyyy!" Quinn also did, sitting next to the guy. As Sabo was gone, she couldn't cease her smile in her happiness, so long until her face turned to the side, staring at Ace, who had sat back up.

Awkward silence.

She put a hand up with a small wave while the other stuck stiffly between her legs. "Hi."

"Why are you shy?" he asked, returning her stare casually, his arms supporting his weight. "Sabo told me you're very outgoing."

"I-I-, well, I dunno..." It was not because of his free torso, since that was dressed now. And not because of his status as Sabo's brother. Quinn had just as much clue as anyone else, so no clue at all. Yes, sometimes she was out-going, getting along with people easy; and sometimes she was just socially awkward. "...You wanna hear a joke?"

Maybe it was because she was surrounded from the family now, from _his_ family. The more got together, the weirder it became and as a stranger, all her insecurities glowed up.

"Sure," Ace replied, behaving different to her, rather easy-going.

"Why do leopards never play hide-and-seek?"

"...?"

"Because they're always spotted."

He smiled with a titter. "Wow, that was bad."

"But you laugh."

"I sorta like bad jokes."

His statement put a smile on her lips right away. "I know another one, you wanna hear too?"

"Sure, tell me"

"Why's the tomato red?'

"I don't know, why?"

"Because it saw the salad dressing."

He furrowed his brows with slight snicker. "You don't really find them funny, do you?"

Smiling wryly, she stared at her lap. "Well... I do... sorry..."

Ace fell back on the bed, putting his hands behind his head while staring at the bottom of the bunk above. "Say Quinn, how's it going with you two? How bad's my brother as a boyfriend?"

"It's all good!" Quinn claimed, looking at him. "He's super sweet!"

"I never had expected him to get into a relationship ever," Ace told and a long smirk widened on his face. "Back then he made fun of me for having a crush, and now he's the one having someone."

"There's always a first time," Quinn said. "It's kinda new to me too... tehe."

"I see. Well, good luck then."

"Ah no, he's not my first boyfriend. I mean _first-_ first _real_ boyfriend."

He looked at her.

"It's... I've been in a relationship before, but the guy actually didn't like me, and did it only for... you know, that what people like to have... uhh, well, sexy time..." His look changed to mild bafflement, which Quinn noticed such as her mouth telling too much again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to tell you something gloomy! I normally don't tell people personal thing's so fast, so please don't think I crave for attention or so! I, uhh, Sabo's awesome! And I actually just wanted to say that I trust him, and, yeah, he's sweet and good-looking, and smart and strong! Don't worry, you can trust me! I won't hurt him ever!"

"Dadan's treating me like a child," Sabo sounded as he suddenly got back inside the room.

They looked at him, Ace responding, "well, you're still living under her roof."

"Oh, I forgot that you're the bigger child in her eyes."

"Hey, who's the one even keeping a relationship secret like a dumb teenager?"

"Who's so irresponsible not calling when promised? Like a dumb teenager."

Staring at them in turn, relieved that the topic changed so fast by Sabo's quiet return, Quinn said, "you two remind me of two good friends of mine."

Sabo let himself down on the chair at the desk, turning the front to them. "Speaking of good friends, how are they doing?"

"They are alright I think, Shachi's hard-working on his shop! Penguin's almost cured, and Judy's, well, Judy."

"And how's Trafalgar?"

"Uhm," Quinn pondered swiftly, "he's... I guess right as well." Thinking back to today, he had seemed _very_ alright.

Dadan entered the room with her upper torso as she knocked against the door frame. "Miss Heady, you stay for dinner and overnight?"

They looked at the woman that stepped in, Quinn replying, "ah, I don't think I'll stay long. Have to get out early tomorrow and my whole stuff for work's at home."

"Not even for dinner? I made a lot, the boy's are eating like machines. And I'm sure it's a good occasion to get to know each other better; Ace sure head some interesting stories to tell too."

"Quinn's not innocent in that either," Sabo threw in a commentary, chuckling.

"Hey, I don't eat like you," she said with half-lidded eyes before turning them fully-open back to the woman. "Uhm, if that's really okay, I'd love to stay for dinner then..."

While Quinn was talking to her, Sabo and Ace were staring at each other, moving their lips to soundless words and grinned and laughed silently like little boys, probably making fun of Dadan or so.

"Sure it is. And what are you brats communicating about again? Go and set the table, Sabo!"

Said guy got up and passed her with a relaxed smile to get outside. "Chill Dadan, it's just been awhile we've seen each other."

He headed downstairs and Quinn pointed with her finger to herself, asking, "uhh, can I help too?"

"You're a guest, Miss Heady; it's fine."

Quinn pressed her finger against her cheek, trying to smile, though her eyes rather avoided to look at anyone. "Uhm, I think it's awkward when you keep calling me 'Miss Heady' when, uhm, you know... me and Sabo... 'Quinn' alone's fine."

Dadan laughed to her shyness. "Then call me Dadan. Welcome to our family, Quinn!"

Her face turned red within a second and she tightened her lips to a straight line, holding her breath.

"Geez, Dadan, you can't say something like that to her," Ace said, "you make her head explode."

"Shy little girl, what?" she responded and winked at the blonde, "just get down to Sabo."

Quinn nodded and stood up, moving stiff and slowly out of the room until she got out of their sight and speeded down to the kitchen, bumping into Sabo from behind, her arms tightly wrapped around his waist while she buried her face into his shirt.

"Wuaah," Sabo startled and put the plates in his hand down, trying to turn around to her, who kept hugging onto him. "Marshmallow, what's wrong?"

"Sabo, I'm so shy and embarrassed!"

"Why that?"

"Meeeeh, hug me please...!" She squeezed him stronger.

Sabo's brow rose and he also put one arm around her, the other on her head, smiling. "Has Dadan said anything stupid again?"

* * *

Later in the bar, Penguin and Shachi had already left while Judy had claimed that she would be gone as well only to see her arriving back at the location. She had forgotten her phone and looked for it at the front, leaning over the counter and received it indeed from a staff without any hassle. When she thought her business was done over there, her eyes perceived Law, who she had expected to be home already, sitting lonely in the corner at the bar counter on the other side.

Judy walked up to him, casually taking the seat next. "What was that today? You think your feelings for her will vanish just like that by acting like today?"

Law was hanging with his cheek in his palm, the half-emptied glass with some alcoholic in his other hand. Though she accompanied him, he didn't move a muscle but told her quietly, "leave me alone."

"Oh geez, Law," Judy said. "I don't get you. What you're doing is trying on a taken girl."

"I'm not _trying_ ," he claimed. "I haven't changed anything in my behavior toward her."

"But that behavior brought you to where you don't wanna be now."

He looked inside his glass as he tilted the mouth of it slightly into his direction, trying to balance the liquid at the edge of some inner elevation. A behavior that brought him here? "Do you really think it would've been any different if I was treating her in another way?" Law side-glanced her. "She'd be still the same though."

Judy narrowed her brows, uncertain about his statement. "People only react to other's behavior, it's your own fault that you have fallen for her."

Fallen.

Weird, he had never seen it as that and yet he couldn't speak against it.

As his eyes moved back ahead without a response, Judy noticed that her word choice might had been strange, since the last time they had mentioned his feelings for Quinn, it had been all about a 'crush' he was overreacting to. She bit the inside of her cheek, feeling uncomfortable that she had said that and wondered what he was thinking about it now.

Only silence followed, Judy's heart beat stronger and she eyed his calm face that bothered no look but appeared to had disappeared in thoughts. She looked down and wondered if she should just leave, stop making the moment more uncomfortable than she already assumed it to be; but her mind pulled her eyes back to him and she reached out for his thigh, speaking in a low and guilty tone while her hand wandered slowly over his lap. "Law, I-"

"Judy."

She halted her breath and her hand balled slowly.

"Not today."

And maybe never again.

* * *

"Sleeping here like the old times, what?" Sabo said, lying on the bottom bunk in the dark room.

"With that dwarf," Ace referred to Luffy, who was snoring on the mattress on the floor next to them as he had been adamant spending the night with his big brothers. "It's so good to sleep here again."

"Yeah, I thought the same when I came a few months ago." It was unbelievable for him though that he was here now almost half a year.

"Oi."

"Hm?"

"Quinn really likes you."

Returning to a more serious topic, Sabo's face matched the situation. "I know."

"No, I mean, _really,"_ Ace repeated, still lying on his back while staring against the dark ceiling that got only lighted by the weak moonlight that peeked through their window. "What do you think about her now? I mean, back then when you called me, you said you were unsure about that all, but this is already a while now."

"It is."

He gasped out a small sarcastic laugh as he remembered, "calling yourself reflexively her boyfriend even you didn't want it to go so far that soon."

"They had asked me, I thought it was weird if I said 'no'," Sabo stated. "But I've already told you everything through the phone that night, I don't need to repeat myself."

"Did you got back in later?"

"Of course, should I just have left? It was a fun night though." Ace didn't respond anymore, but left Sabo in wonder though. "Did Quinn tell you something, or why you're so questy all of a sudden?"

The guy on the top grinned a little. "I'm just curious about my younger brother's love life "

"Only around three months," Sabo remarked, smirking somewhat.

"Almost four you mean."

"I'm taller though."

"Tze, that bit." Sabo grinned, studying the top with the slatted frame briefly before he kicked the mattress above him with one foot up, making Ace shouting as he had startled, "what the fuck are you doing?!"

Sabo laughed and did even more when Ace hung his arm from the edge, showing him his middle finger.

"No, but seriously," he continued then and put the hand back underneath his head. "What do you think about her now?"

"I like her," Sabo said. "She's cute, funny and pretty."

Finding the answer almost too simple, Ace replied, "that's it?"

"What do you wanna hear else? That she has a heart made of gold?"

"Has she?"

"Yeah," he confirmed, "super innocent, super helpful, super caring. She has a really great and unique personality." Sabo couldn't detect any flaw in her, not that he wanted to see one, but even if he put time in trying to name one, toward him, she appeared almost flawless. Quinn was so selfless and always ready to do him or anyone else any favor; the story Koala had told him about their first encounter was almost shockingly friendly. Her smile and lame jokes brightened people's day; he found her really pretty, her personality adorable. "I told her a three weeks ago about my uncertainty. It was kinda relieving to have done that, and now I feel like I'm more ready to keep that running with her."

"She's a heartbroken girl."

Surprised, Sabo was muzzled for a second.

"I'm sure she told you about her ex relationship."

"She told _you?_ "

"That girl got her heart broken once already," Ace said, a little like a warning, "I hope you know what you do."

Sabo narrowed his brows a bit. Yeah, he remembered what she had told him about the guy that had used her. And also about her disappointment before him. "I do."

"One question though," Ace said and pushed himself a little up, leaning over the edge to look down at the other guy. "Don't get me wrong for asking that now, but I was really just wondering."

Sabo stared at him, raising a brow.

"This girl you work with, what happened to her?"

His sight moved back to the top, if not to the side, completely away from him. "Koala and I are just good friends."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** I've proof-read that chapter twice, but I've got the feeling instead of improving, my writing gets worse since I've got not much freetime to write. However, hope you've enjoyed it though!_

 _ **Apple Bloom** \- Quinn would cry when she reads that :(_

 _ **whale** \- surprise! I'm always happy to hear that people enjoy reading about her relationship with Sabo too; that guy's such an underrated character. Also thought about putting him into the description, but I chose not to since he might be a big part of the story, but I'm sure you can already guess that he won't be there over the whole since Quinn/Law. Anyway, glad you like the story! Thanks for reading and reviewing :)_

 _ **Nightmare22** \- I'm very thankful for the review though :)!_


	41. Shopping

**41\. Shopping**

How did a good day start? On a weekend, well-rested, with bright sunshine. And a potential company.

Inside a little supermarket, after spotting Law alone, Quinn leaned in a jerk to his side, shouting, "surprise!"

The reaction she received was anything but surprise, he didn't even bother to pay her attention and grabbed the onigiri he wanted, before turning to leave.

Her face followed him quietly until he was in a sightable distance that pulled her feet after him. "Hey, why are you ignoring me?"

"You need something?" he asked, keeping his face ahead such as his tempo.

She rolled her eyes up and shrugged her shoulders. "Hello Quinn. How are you Quinn? What are you doing here, Quinn?"

Law stopped at the check out and paid his small snack. "What do you want?"

"God, what happened to you?"

"Why are you following me?"

She indeed did, even when he walked out the supermarket.

"I dunno, I just want you to say at least 'hello' and 'good bye' properly before I mind my own business."

Law stopped and looked at her. "Hello Miss Heady. See you, Miss Heady."

Continued his path carefree and disinterested about any further interaction made her slugging her shoulders while she leaned her head back, rolling her eyes up to the sky. "Ah maaan, Doooc." She swept her head into his direction, followed by the rest of her body. "Have I done something wrong or what is? You don't look like you're busy or coming from work."

"No, I'm just not in the mood to talk."

"Are you ever in the mood?"

"Not really."

Yes, he was the type of person to act closed-off quite often, but knowing him better now, she was able to distinguish whether he really needed his peace, or if he was just an ignorant jerk again for any issues he didn't want to share (not that she ever expected him, but sometimes she felt personal attacked).

"I'm shopping for Sabo, you wanna help me?" she started random and fell right away into her little babbler, "he's always dressing so formal, I rarely see him in casual clothing. I dunno if it'd because he doesn't own anything casual, so I thought about getting him something. And perhaps you can try those on for me, that would be super nice!"

"Peanut," he said, "I don't wanna help you."

"Whyyy? Shopping's fun!'

"No, it's not."

"Okay fiiine," Quinn replied, placing her hands around her waist, standing stiffly, "then not." She turned on her heels and moved away. "You make me sad."

Law sighed with lids sunken half over his eyeballs so that she somehow managed to interpret hints of surrender. Staring over her shoulder at him then with a dumb smile of hope, he frowned. "What?"

"Please?"

"No."

As she moved her front back to him, her lower lip slid slowly forth and her blue eyes sparkled more than usual as they grew in size, getting round and pitiful. "Go shopping with me..."

"Don't think that works on me," he responded, the puppy-look leaving him cold.

"Alright." Quinn cocked her head conceited and turned about 180 degrees again to get away from the spot. "Then I'll leave now."

"See you," Law said without any sign of objection and shoved one hand in the pocket of his pants, the other leading the rice ball as he got away from the spot too.

"Yeah, see you!" she shouted after him and began to move slowly, one leg after another while trying to keep him in her view. "I will go shopping on my own now! Only me, Quinn Heady with no friends! You will see, I'll be right around the corner, just in a few seconds. Bye bye, Doc." Distanced less than two meters, she ensured him again that she would leave, "yes, just a few more seconds, and I'll be gone."

Law did not react.

Reaching the corner, she walked around as slow as she could with her hands swaying stiffly with her movements, her head still glancing upon the wall only to keep him in sight. "I'm at the corner now, and I will keep my pace, so when you turn around, you won't see me."

He stopped. Another eye roll.

"I give you two hours and no more," said he, tilting back to her, seeing her stupid act for attention as only half of her body had disappeared behind the corner.

Abruptly, she straightened, turning to him. "Three!"

"Two."

"Two and a half!'

"Alright, three."

"Oh my god!" The girl rushed over to him and squeezed his torso in happiness. "You're the best!"

Taken aback by her sudden hug, he lifted his arms and looked irritated down at her while his rising blood pressure was suppressed. She smiled brightly and looked up to his face, his' darted away immediately.

"Get away."

She didn't hesitate to do and snickered about his uptightness. Law was just being Law.

* * *

Though the Revolutionaries were an organization with some staff traveling frequently, big cities often had important headquarters with steady occupations. But also towns like the one Sabo was home rented places for their staff to stay temporarily. Despite his preference to work home, he now and then caught up with his colleagues at their meet point, especially for any consultation. His most important reason though would be exchanging with his assistant, who was busy all herself every day.

Walking inside the office, empty but her lying with her head on the desk, he wondered what she was up to and carried the paper stuck in his hands inside. He placed the stuck down right next to her head, got her eyes open slowly.

"Koala? You sleeping?" asked he and watched the girl straightening idly back.

Koala stretched her body and let out a breath as her arms sank again. "No, just a little nap."

"I've gone through the applications, there're a few great people among them that could really do things easier in some projects," Sabo said, but stopped as he noted the unusual responselessness of the girl. "You look exhausted."

She pulled the stuck closer to her and skimmed over it. "I think I just haven't slept enough this week, it's nothing serious."

"You should quit here and go see a doctor."

"I'm alright..." she claimed and opened a folder, putting the sheets inside. "I still have work to do."

Sabo folded his arms, looking at her as if she hadn't said anything. "Hm, I think the local hospital's 24/7 open, you can see Dr. Dillan. A very kind woman."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"I do, but I don't care."

"Geez Sabo," Koala sneered a bit and faced the desk again, picking up where she had left off before the nap.

Still with folded arms, Sabo leaned against the desk, crossing a leg over the other with his shoe tip on the floor. He looked down at her and studied her tired face briefly before his judgment fell quick, "you're over-working yourself again, every time I see you with health complaints."

"That's basically not true," Koala said, not bothering to stop as she was writing down some calculations.

"But your," he started and continued a bit uncomfortable about the subject, his close smile being wry, "bladder..."

"That got nothing to do with me working a lot," Koala countered, her eyes still not leaving what's lying in front of her, "I still have some calls to do. Someone's using our money not correctly, we've lost a great sum to false decision."

"Maybe your bladder's always inflamed because of your wardrobe."

She paused and looked at him with half-lidded eyes, which asked displeased 'what?'

"You're wearing those tiny skirts every year, every day," he said, his finger pointing down to her bottom half, "so-"

"It's summer right now and I have no cystitis, so I don't see the problem...!" Koala ranted, her cheeks colored red, partly due to anger and the other half to embarrassment.

The guy startled and walled himself with his hands, trying to calm her with an honest, "I'm sorry."

She cocked her head with closed eyes, looking conceited, but in huff, away while organizing the desk only to the matter of distraction. "How's Quinn doing by the way?"

"She's doing fine," he answered and carefully tried to catch a look of her face. "I was sorry, you're still mad?"

"That's great to here, I wish her everything good. That means, you better behave good around her or you'll have to deal with me." As no response came, Koala looked back at him and faced his blank, but uncomfortably piercing eyes. "...What?"

Sabo extended one arm and touched her forehead, taking the girl by surprise. She flinched and held it herself, staring with red cheeks at him.

"You should really go see a doctor," he said, sounding more serious now.

Knowing that her condition was indeed not the best, she didn't want to make a discussion out of it any further and gave in, sighing and returning to her work. "Yeah, you're right... But first I'll make the calls, and when I'm done, I'll go."

Sabo straightened back and walked past her. "Don't forget about it, or else you have to deal with me and I'm certainly not a doctor."

His words only increased her blush and also brought along confusion. "What are you talking? You're such an idiot," she stated, away from him as her embarrassment made her. Koala appreciated his care, though he had a unique way to express it. Even she considered him her best friend, some situation he put her in made her feeling somewhat uncomfortable. Or no... it was more shyness. The shyness that was not supposed to be between best friends.

To distract herself from the weird way she felt, work made it back into her head and she turned around to share her thoughts with the guy. "And Sabo, I-"

But he had disappeared, quiet as always.

She rested her chin on the backrest and pursed her lips with brows somewhat unsettled. _You idiot, you shall look for Quinn..._

* * *

"I said, I'll come with you, but I won't try anything on."

"Please, please, please, please."

"I'm not Sabo."

"You're just a little taller, but not thaaaat much. And you two have quite the same build, I guess only your lat's a bit wider."

"Peanut."

With the clothes hanging from the hanger in the grip of both her hands, Quinn sighed openly and said, "I should've asked Ace, he's so much nicer and sweeter."

Law stayed uninspired. "Yeah, he probably also looks like him."

"Actually not. Told ya they aren't brothers by blood. He has black hair and cute freckles," she told, pointing at her cheeks. "But he's the same height as Sabo I think. Oh, but he looks pretty athletic as well, maybe that really would've been the better idea. But I dunno how to contact him without Sabo knowing, since I wanna surprise him. And, ah, I just met him once... this would be kinda weird... Unless! He supports our relationship! Yap, I think he does! I should really have consid-"

"Alright, I'll do it," Law cut off her words and took the clothes out of her hand, turning annoyed to the fitting rooms.

"Wooh!" She hopped behind him, one arm raised. "Law Trafalgar, doctor within weekdays, model at weekends."

Unamused about her comment, he gave her a death stare and she shrunk, smiling intimidated. "I'm sorry..."

Inside the cubicle, curtain closed, Law eyed the given selection and asked, already demotivated. "Do I have to try it all?" Why was he doing that again?

"The white T-shirt underneath any shirt," Quinn told, standing outside in front of the cubicle, "hm... I prefer the denim one, I dunno, I love denim. Did you know, Sabo suits blue just as much as me? And we're both blonde tehe." When she heard no response, she tilted her head a little down to her shoulder with wondrous eyes. "Are you alive?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you say anything?"

"Because I don't wanna talk about what suits anybody."

"Weeell, I think you're looking really good in slim fit long-sleeve shirts. Judy suits hot pants because her legs are soooo beautiful. I like Pen in zip hoodies and Shachi in slim fit T-shirts. By the way T-shirts, I didn't know about his and Pen's tattoos before because they always wore long sleeves, but since it's summer and both wearing short sleeves, I can say I find them pretty cool! Also that you three got them together, Pen told me! I love tattoos, I want one too, what do ya think would suit me? It should be simple, but cute!"

Just as she finished her sentence, Law pulled the curtain open, earning glances from her straight away. And it was better than she had thought. He stood in the outfit she wanted him to be, the long denim sleeves rolled up, exposing his tattoos, and stared back at her without much emotion but the usual flat expression. Quinn scanned him up and down, soaking the image for a brief moment.

"You look good..." No, he looked more than just good.

"Satisfied? Do I have to try the other stuff too?" asked he dryly.

"Yes, please," Quinn answered, but stopped him as he wanted to close the curtain again, "wait."

Her phone camera captured him quickly, left him disconcerted. "The fuck?"

That one was for Judy, she would probably love the look when Quinn herself already found it somehow attractive. "I just se- hide...!"

Pushing the guy panicky back behind curtains by the sight of a familiar face, Law stumbled backwards with gritted teeth, displeased about her sudden action. "Wh-?!"

"Oh! Miss Heady!" a quirky voice sounded at the front and Law kept quiet instantaneously, narrowing his brows.

"Luffy?! Are you alone here?" Quinn responded to the little boy that just had come around the corner. His presence was a big surprise and she connected it immediately to Sabo, whom she would love to avoid today due to the gift-shopping.

Then a second voice followed right behind before Luffy could say anything. "No, he's with me."

Facing Ace instead, Quinn welcomed it and lifted her hand to wave at him rather stiffly. "Ahh, hello!"

Ace looked briefly around before his casual smile returned to her. "Nice to see you again, you're alone here?"

"Ah, no, uhm, I'm, well, I'm with a friend and that one's in there, changing," she told in light stutter and pointed to the fitting room she stood in front of. "What are you doing here? You look good by the way. I mean, hi. I'm alone here! Uh, with a friend! Nice hair!"

He raised a brow and her awkward eyes fixed to the boys' clothes in his hand. "Shopping for Luffy?"

Ace tittered, answering, "I certainly won't fit in that."

"You're sure?" she replied jokingly and seemed to had triggered him by accident as his fellow response was feral.

"Hey, I'm shorter than Sabo, but not that much, okay?!"

"What, you're shorter?" she asked then and stared at the top of his head, trying to recall Sabo's height.

He tried not to bust out another comment and calmed down, forgetting about that topic quick. "Anyway, I'm only shopping with him 'cause Dadan made me." Ace sighed loudly, emphasizing how tired of this he was. "Actually, I haven't got time and have to head into the neighbor town for an appointment in the print factory. But, since no one's home, I have to babysit him all day."

"I'm not a baby!" Luffy exclaimed.

The guy looked at him, repeating sloppy, but with teasing purposes, "babysitting," to what the little boy ranted in the ignorance of both adults.

"Oh, where's Sabo? Isn't he working at home today?" Quinn asked.

"Not at home," Ace told and pointed with his thumb down to Luffy, "Everyone's gone and they left me with that dwarf. I'll later take him with me and hope he'll behave."

She looked at the grumpy child that was pointing his eyes on his brothers legs, hauling out for a punch. Luffy was a good boy, but manners were definitely unfamiliar to him. "Uhm, if you want, I can take care of him meanwhile," she offered and both guys looked at her in surprise. "I'm heading to friends later, he can play video games over there and you can pick him up when you're back!"

"You serious?" Ace queried somewhat perplexed.

Her lips widened to a smile as she nodded.

Luffy's mood changed around 180 degrees and he looked up at his teacher with joy. "Is there food at your friends' house?"

"If not, we can shop ingredients and cook."

"Oh, that sounds great! I don't wanna do shopping anymore anyway."

"You're still trying those on...!" Ace snarled.

Luffy put his hands behind his head and turned away from the guy while pursing his lips. "Pff."

The young man grabbed the neck of his shirt and threw the boy inside a free cubicle, flinging the clothes along. "Get inside there, dwarf!"

"Ouch! You hurt me!"

As if nothing had happened, his attention drew back to Quinn and he sheepishly rubbed his head, saying kindly, "if that's really okay for you, I would leave him with you for a few hours."

"Yap! No problem!" she assured.

"Great, my thanks!" said he then with a little bow. "If you don't mind I'd go now."

"Not at all."

"That's really kind of you, here's the money for his clothes; just buy him a few shirts and especially pants since he's ripping them so often."

She took the money he handed her. "Alright, see you."

"See you," he said and turned to leave, but took a last glance to the fitting room his little brother was in. "Oi Luffy, behave, okay?!"

"Don't worry," he claimed. "Bye bye, Ace!"

 _What a sweet guy_ , Quinn thought, watching him until he was out of sight. Relieved that everything went alright, she breathed out quietly and put away the money he had given. Her face moved over to the curtain that covered the guy she actually was hanging out with, no sound had been leaving the spot after she had hidden him inside that cubicle.

Wondering if he was fine or even still there (maybe he was a ninja and had disappeared without anyone noticing), Quinn walked up to peek inside. "Trafal-?"

Shocked as she caught his upper body nude again while he sat nonchalant on the little stool inside, returning a languid yet icy stare, she pulled the curtain immediately close. "I'm sorry...!" Her lips pressed together to a straight line while she was still holding the curtain tight and close, taking a deep breath. How bad-mannered of her to get in without his agree.

But Law told her though to, "come in."

Clapping her pink cheeks softly, she took another breath and tried to calm her mind. Slowly, she peeked back inside and narrowed her brows, her blushing intensifying. "...You're still shirtless!"

"Don't act like you've never seen me shirtless before," Law told as he stood again, closing the pants she had given him. Quinn's eyes rushed immediately away from the crotch area and she looked to the ground, feeling very uncomfortable.

"Besides, it's just a body," he added and side-glanced her, "or am I wrong?"

"No, you're not..." Quinn answered and mumbled, "I haven't even seen Sabo like that..."

"Sorry?" Law requested a repeat as he missed her words acoustically.

"Nothing." Carefully, she drew her eyes back at him. They wandered from his feet up to his torso, and god, Quinn felt weird. _Stop girl, look away, this is not where your eyes supposed to behold. But holy, where did he get the time to work out? Anyway, look away, look away! But those tattoos made him looking so baddass... Oh my, what the hell are you thinking? Oh dear god, forgive me for my thoughts! I'll look away immediately! It was just staring, no touching! And-_

"Peanut."

Her widened eyes darted in shock right back at his face. "Hm?!"

His eyes didn't lock long with hers, but seemed to study her nervous and discolored face. "I said, don't act like you've never seen me shirtless, but also, don't _stare_."

Quinn's jaw dropped slightly as she attempted to apologize, but her embarrassment made her unable to talk. _Oh no, he had noticed it! Stupid Quinn, stupid Quinn, stupid-_

"Pervert."

 _Eh?_

The highly embarrassed mood dropped right away and she half-lidded her eyes. " _I'm_ definitely not the pervert among us two."

He smirked shamelessly and pulled a shirt over his head to slip in, turning her, again pinkish, face to some displeasure. Stepping back, she closed the curtain again and let her attention wander to her student, getting away from that awkward moment. "Luffy, are you finish?"

He didn't answer, so she stepped up and pulled the curtain open only to spot him nowhere.

Panicky, she looked around with worries to had lost him, but heard a quirky, "hello, Torao," then.

"Luffy!"

The little boy was crouching on the floor, his head stuck behind the curtain of Law's fitting room. She rushed over and lifted the boy up, away from there.

"Hey, let me down!"

"You can't just peek into other people's cabin. And it's _Dr. Trafalgar._ "

Law stepped outside. "I guess I can leave earlier when you've found something here already." Her prior reaction to the denim shirt meant something.

"But three hours aren't over yet," Quinn said though, pouting a bit while eyeing the next outfit he had on. She loved it too. "And you haven't tried on everything yet."

"Three hours only when you're still looking."

"I do."

"..."

"Confess," she said then and raised Luffy by his armpits, holding the boy in front of him, "you just don't wanna hang out with him."

Luffy carried a blank smile. "Hi, we've met thrice now, that makes us friends, right?"

Staring at the boy rather in antipathy, he wrinkled his forehead and looked back at the 'saddened' girl. "...Peanut."

"See, he said you two are even friends." She took the boy back on her arms. "Dr. Trafalgar's a good friend."

"Yeah he is," Luffy agreed simple.

"Stop talking nonsense...!" Law complained.

"C'mon, Doc." Quinn made a step closer to him with a somewhat begging expression. "There's still one and half an hour left."

Uncomfortable of the situation she was putting him in, he flinched back slowly. "You-"

"Ah Luffy! Don't smudge your boogers on the clothes! Those are not paid yet!"

Bewildered, Law gazed at her while she was scolding her student.

Did he want that? No.

Did she want that? Yes.

Did he care? Yes.

Grossed out, annoyed, confused and shocked, either about Luffy or his decision, he tilted away from the two and grumbled a little, "alright, one and a half."

"Naaaw, you're the best!" Quinn called out in joy and leaned into his side as an armless hug since those were holding her student.

She pretty much swamped him.

...

"What's that face?"

"I don't know why I still have to sit here when you've finished shopping."

"That's called: spending free time together. But instead in a bar with the others, we're here together at an ice cream shop."

Since July just set in and the temperature rose, the three of them didn't consider much but refreshing ice cream for the rest of the day before Law would depart. Sitting together in the middle of the city center outside of the parlor, Luffy enjoying his ice cream bowl, Quinn looked at the man in front of her who declined to order something, but sat there like waiting for the left minutes to be over soon.

"I don't wanna force you to stay," Quinn stated after seeing him only showing the opposite of joy, "if you really wanna go, then do it."

Law frowned a little before his eyes shifted to the side. "No, I'm fine."

Leaning forward, she rested her elbows on the table and her face in her hands, not stopping staring at him. "Liar. I know you enough to see what really bothers you."

He looked back at her. "I said, I'm alright. But if you want me to leave so badly."

Her mouth corners sunk to grumpiness and she leaned back, drinking from the straw of her milkshake. "I just meant well..."

Law sighed slightly annoyed. "Peanut."

"A-choo!"

He paused when Luffy had interrupted his train of thoughts with his sneeze. "..."

"Luffy, don't eat that," Quinn scolded again, softly, as the boy didn't seem to care or even realize he was about to eat his own snot on his ice cream.

"Huh? Trafalgar?" Suddenly someone behind them sounded and the heads turned.

"Oh, Dr. Dillan!" Quinn responded, positively surprised about the woman's appearance. "How are you?"

"I'm good, what are you doing here?" she replied, equally delighted. With hands in her doctor gown, she got closer to the bunch when she was sure it were them and looked in wonder at Luffy. "Isn't that Sabo's... little brother?"

Quinn nodded, smiling. "Yeah, no one got time, so we babysit him."

"I'm not a baby!"

"Oh really?" The woman's eyes shifted in turn from Quinn to Law. "You two together?"

"Yap."

"No."

Knowing that he was just 'playing' unapproachable again, she chuckled and brushed that behavior aside. "How amusing, you three look like a little family together."

"Ah, that might be..." Quinn said, grinning weirdly, "but-but it's nothing like that, not a bit."

"Of course, I know-I know, sorry," Dillan calmed her with a sincere smile. Her eyes wandered back to Law then, eyeing him swiftly as he sat there with folded arms, unamused. "It's just amazing to see Trafalgar here, being so social. I can't wait to see him forming his own family one day."

"And when he marries, I'm gonna be his best man! Uh, best woman!" Quinn joked with a hand rose, but faced Law right away when she thought, "or would you ask one of the other two? Oh my god! Shachi or Penguin?!"

Law ignored her question and looked up at Dr. Dillan. "Don't you have to work?"

His question was less for the matter of interest but requested her leaving. She stayed untouched by his dark mood though and kept smiling in all honesty, answering "yeah, I'm on my way to the hospital now, and got some lunch before. Anyway, have fun you three. See you tomorrow, Trafalgar."

"Thanks, you too!" Quinn said. "Dr. Dillan's so nice," she added then, watching the woman leaving. "I wanna get married in future and be a nice mum like her with a super cute relationship she had with her husband."

"Her dead husband."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "That's why I said 'had', god, Dr. insensitive. Maybe I wanna have two kids, a boy and a girl, but the boy has to be older or they're twins; and a cute dog! And we gonna live together in a super nice house, small, but fine. And then I make sure those two gonna be the happiest kids alive with two parents, not spoiled, but also not poor; and looots of fun and a super childhood."

"And don't forget regular check ups at a doctor."

"Don't woooorry, and that too!" Quinn replied, giggling a little. "Ouh man, I'm turning 24 this year, can you believe my mum got me when she was 18?! I was just in my second semester at that age, and I started to work only last year. How could I ever raise a child now, holy."

Law's brow rose in interest. "So, you're a teacher since only last year?"

"I'm still in my probation, which ends this summer. Officially, I started teaching last year after the summer holidays, before, I did an internship for three months, but they say I do a good job. And I can only teach arts because of a teacher shortage, otherwise I'm not fully qualified for that."

"Probation..." Being more interested now, he asked her, "you intend to stay here, teaching?"

Quinn kept quiet for a second for thoughts before she said smiling, "no, actually not... I love my job and my salary gets better and better, but I miss doing something more art related. Hence, I wanna move in two years for art school."

Law paused.

As calm as he seemed, she noticed his surprise and laughed a little. "Yeah, the uni's in my home-city, a few hours away from here. I only had moved here for my sport studies, but I definitely plan to leave in near future. I mean, of course, only when I get through. I wouldn't even know if I'd get my teacher job back in case I'd come back.

"What about... Sabo?"

"He will leave at the end of the year, it's gonna be a long-distance relationship anyway."

"And Judy?"

"Judy says I should go, maybe she will follow me if she can get a job over there." She drank her milkshake empty before starting to tell, "actually, I already wanted to leave next year, but I didn't attend the qualification test because I promised Sabo to- Ow!" Holding her forehead as Law had allowed another snap with his fingers, she asked irritated, "what?!"

"You put him before your future?"

"You haven't let me finish my sentence!"

"So you did."

Looking away in shame, rubbing the spot on her forehead, she said, "you don't need to scold me, Judy already did."

"Shachi and Penguin will be very unhappy to hear that you leave," Law continued then, leaving the issue with Sabo uncommented. He knew Judy enough to be sure, that woman had scolded her friend the right way.

"I'm gonna visit you guys every few months!" she claimed before changing the topic quickly due to discomfort, "anyway, can I ask you how you managed to finish your master with 19?"

"There's a program that allows school students to participate in uni lecture's and seminars. So, I start visiting those when I was 14, did my bachelor degree quite early while finishing high school, and so, finished my master with 19."

Deeply locked to his eyes, Quinn shook her head slowly, saying, "Dr. Genius. I admire you."

Law's brows narrowed a bit and he looked away on his watch, getting up. "I'm leaving now, three hours are over."

"Wow, are you that meticulous?" Quinn asked.

"No, but I thought you are," he responded, putting a wry smile on her face.

"We gonna head to Penguin and Shachi, you really don't wanna come?"

"I'm gonna be there later," he said and shifted his chair back to the table.

Quinn showed instant happiness. "Oh, so perhaps we're seeing each other later!"

"Yeah."

"Oh, Torao's leaving?" Luffy then realized too.

"Stop saying Torao," Quinn scolded again, "It's _Dr. Trafalgar_ , Luffy!"

The little boy ignored her and waved at Law. "Bye bye, Torao!"

Quinn's view halved and she looked at the young man. "Don't you mind that?"

He smirked a little, saying, "I'm used to weird nicknames," and walked off.

She smiled at his comment and called after him a last time, "see you, take care of yourself!"

Though he first had wanted to glance back at her over his shoulder, Law didn't but continued quietly his way, mumbling, "you too."

* * *

Later the day, Quinn got over to Shachi and Penguin like said and it was just as uncomplicated as she had imagined with Luffy over there, since the two guys could easily get along with him due to sharing a favorite video game. Unbelievable, but in many aspects, Luffy seemed to do a better job in that game as them. Or it was simply lots of luck.

They played the whole day with Quinn sitting beside, chatting with the two mates and eating potato chips. She didn't even do a bad job herself when giving the game a try too, quite the contrary. Around five, Quinn decided to get up and do some shopping for dinner as the two provided as good as nothing at home for a proper meal. She also wanted to spare them from ordering expensive fast food.

Luffy stayed at their place while she had assured them to be right back. It took her about half and an hour to return from the supermarket.

Getting off the bus, complaining mentally about the construction work at the local supermarket that made her going for the farther one, she did a quick check if everything was still together and not left forgotten in the bus. Quinn then carried the paper bag in one arm and made a quick call with the other to inform Judy she would be back later than planned.

Quietly, she was walking up the street to the apartment then and was revising her cooking plans, Law's later attendance still stuck to her mind. He hadn't told when he would be there exactly, but she was sure that he would be hungry when he would get over, thus she would do more and leave it there.

Not far from her destination then, Quinn slowed down her steps as a car of average size parked in the way, a guy holding the door to the backseat open. She saw another guy coming from the building she was supposed to enter and full of confusion, her eyes widened. "What?"

On his shoulder, the stranger was carrying Luffy and Quinn tried to sort her perplexed mind while she was watching them getting together to place the unconscious (?!) boy in their car. "Wait... what...? No..."

They put him inside and her eyes rushed to the building and back to the two, realizing that something was definitely wrong. The paper bag dropped and she ran over to them. "Hey! Who are you?! What are you doing?! Luffy! You hear me?!"

The two strangers looked at her as she moved towards them, exchanged looks and chose to ignore her.

"Hey wait! What are you doing with Luffy?!" she yelled at them and grabbed one guys arm as he was about to get into the car.

The guy pulled his arm away and Quinn stepped back, drawing her phone.

He looked at the other guy. "She's calling the cops!"

That one looked back annoyed. "Then get her in too! They seem to know each other."

Quinn froze for a moment and didn't know what to do. She should run away, but she couldn't get herself leaving her student behind. The guy hit her phone to ground and she fought back as he grabbed her and covered her mouth with a cloth that he pulled from his jacket. Trying to scream underneath his hand and fidgeting desperately to get free, he pushed her inside the car as well after the other guy had re-opened the back door.

As she fell on the seat next to the little boy, she tried to push herself up again, but failed. Slowly, her senses were getting weaker and the guy let go of her mouth when he was sure she was too weak to move any further.

Quinn fell asleep and the guys drove off.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _I uploaded a little oneshot (Deathly Silence) of Quinn encountering Law in an alternate universe, the actual OP world. If you haven't checked it out yet, I'd be happy if you do ;)_

 _ **Guest** \- thank you so much for the compliment, made me very happy :)! Glad it comes off as realistic as intended._

 _ **Sarge1130** \- You're confusing something, Sabo knows about her past relationship, even more than Law :) But else, yap, Judy and Law know her better in general than he does._

 _ **Yakimeni** \- you don't know how satisfied I am whenever updating with a new status quo regarding their relationships XD I used to post every day or every second day, so weeks feels like months to me, but glad that readers seem to be okay with that. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!_


	42. To trust

**42\. To trust**

It was beyond him why he always tended to give in so easily whenever he bumped into her. Actually, he hadn't been that busy - or at least nothing important had been going on - but he decided with full awareness to spend the time elsewhere alone. Anywhere together only the two of them (and Luffy) put him into situations he didn't know how to handle. Maybe she was acting close to Shachi and Penguin, but _their_ relationship wasn't supposed to be like this. Quinn had become way too comfortable around him.

Though, Law felt hard to refuse her something completely when her requests appeared so vivid and sincere. Maybe she hadn't been begging for him to come over to his companions' place like she had done with shopping, but _he_ was the one to look for excuses to go and see her. Even he would deny that if anyone, including him, questioned his decision.

At the end of the day, the knowledge that she might be around drew him over to Shachi's and Penguin's apartment. Honestly, he had been considering this morning to drop by anyway as it had been awhile that he did, but Law was unsure about it and thought to go with his mood.

Walking along the street in the evening, the summer sun still up, he passed a bunch of groceries, spread on the side walk. Except for the fresh items like peppers or the onion that rolled away several meters from the spot, the rest that lay around was still new and packed.

In wonder, he gave his discovery slightly more attention and tried to figure an answer for what he found. It was pretty much a waste of either money or food. He didn't bother it too long though and continued his path silently.

Upstairs, outside the veranda, heading to his companions' apartment, the aimed door jumped open and surprised him as Sabo ran out.

"Wait Sabo!" he heard Shachi calling from inside the apartment before that one and also his friend showed up outside as well in panic.

Sabo halted as he faced Law all of a sudden.

According to his face, especially his normally ever smiling one, something unpleasant was going on. Law's brows narrowed subtly. "What's going on here?"

"Law!" his two companions shouted, some relief sounding through.

Shachi had a small wound on his lower lip and seemed, like the others, quite agitated. Confused about their vibe and the tension in the air, Law asked in full calmness, "what happened?"

"Luffy got kidnapped and Quinn probably too."

Long time ago, Law had that stinging feel in his chest that turned his tongue dry in an instant. This time it returned and it wasn't like the good way of stitch but that one that felt like a car was hitting you, muzzling your voice.

"There were two guys knocking on our door, they started a fight and took Luffy," Shachi told, "Sabo found Quinn's phone a few meters away from the building."

Said guy, distress on his face, pulled out the device and held the display up. "She wrote: _sos luffy shac._ I'm sure she had run into them and the guys took her too. She'd be naive enough to confront them directly."

Law looked into the round. "Did you know those guys and called the police yet?"

"No..." Penguin said and his gaze sank, holding other information. "There's that thing..." He handed him a little sheet.

On the sheet was a highway address and a time, which said 9PM. Additionally to that a threat: 'd _on't call cops or we kill him_.'

"What is this..." Law muttered as he had read the text. "You sure you don't know them?"

"Never seen before," Shachi ensured one more.

"They took Luffy, I don't know if it's my fault," Sabo said all of a sudden and gained instant pairs of questioning eyes.

"Quinn told you tend to make enemies easily," Shachi commented.

Interested in his assumption, Law kept a strict expression. "Tell me more."

"Perhaps guys I fought once because of Luffy," Sabo said, fully aware of what trouble he might have caused.

Penguin, however, wasn't completely convinced about the thought. "But they must've watch us the whole time to know that he was even here. This was the first time and pretty spontaneous."

Enemies of Sabo that happened to know about the boy's sojourn here? "No, this is too random," Law stated, confident about his conclusion.

Heard his mate's opinion, Shachi pondered a second time as well and had another thought right away. "Maybe they're from this one dude..." he started quietly, unsure if he should really bring that in. "You know, the one we put in jail, our neighbor."

Puzzled, Sabo looked at Law and the latter replied, "long story."

"It's almost time now, I gotta get going," Sabo said then and started to walk off.

Shachi and Penguin in worry, stared after him. "You can't go alone!"

Law didn't take long to make his turn, stopping him, "wait, I'm going with you." As both young men looked at each other in equal gravity, Law added, "I'm big part of the reason why this is even happening."

"Guys, one of them had carried a gun... We should inform the police," Shachi said worried.

"That's too risky," Sabo responded.

Not getting his opinion at all, Shachi asked, "what?"

"He's right," Law jumped in, "we don't know if they're watching us or so. As long as the boy and her aren't saved yet, we can't risk their deaths."

"Death?! Don't say that!"

"There aren't words making the danger any clearer." Law took another look on the little piece of paper. "This must be out of town."

"I don't think they'll hand us them over just like that when we're there," Sabo said.

"I don't think so too. That's definitely a trap. I'm sure they'll take you to their quarters."

"But whom do they expect to come?" Penguin wondered.

"I'm sure they've planned to kidnap one of you and expect either me or you, or even us both to show up to take revenge on us three - that means, if they belong to that one guy we've fought once."

Hearing that, Sabo turned to Law, unsettled about it. "Was Quinn involved too?"

"No," Law answered, "don't worry. She was with us, but they haven't seen her."

"So they decided to take Luffy after spotting him with us, 'cause it's easier to kidnap a child," Shachi assured himself with a final conclusion.

"Yeah," said Law.

"What shall we do now?"

"We still got time, we shouldn't rush this." He looked over to Sabo, who offered strong suspension as the situation displeased him to high extend. "I know you're angry, but we don't know how many they are and where they are."

"I know," said he and balled his fists. He took his cellphone out and typed in a message.

"What are you doing?" Penguin asked.

"I inform Ace about this, he should be back in town soon."

Standing in thoughts, his eyes focusing nothing particular, Law commented, "if he's able to fight, it would come handy."

"Law?!" his two mates called out in shock, "you can't just expect people to fight."

"I'm just trying to be prepared for what will most probably happen," said he.

"We'll fight too!" Shachi stated and went into a position that showed his will to do.

"No, I want you to stay here," Law told them without considering it in any way. "Penguin's body's still curing, and you should stay here being alert for anything else."

The two stood stiff and didn't dare to counter with any objection but agreed right away. "Aye!"

"Do me a favor and tell Judy about this, she got the right to know."

"Uh, I don't have her number," Shachi said.

With his mind partly absent as he thought about their next steps, Law pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and threw it over to the redhead.

The latter caught it in and asked in surprise, "y-you got it? Since when? I mean, why?" Law didn't answer, in fact ignored his irrelevant question, thus he tried to answer it himself, "I-I mean, of course, you two hit with each other, of course you got her number!"

That both's relationship was built on something intimate like that surprised Sabo somewhat. His eyes wandered to Law, but that one didn't want to make this topic and returned only a cold glance as if telling staying out of his business, before he changed the subject immediately. "I think I've got a plan, but if luck's not on our side and we fail, all of us might be killed."

* * *

Quinn opened her eyes hours later after the guys had dazed her. She noticed instantly that her hands were tied to her back when she had tried to push herself up on her hands. Doing then without, sitting now on a cold stony floor, she took a look around and found herself in a small empty room. There was nothing but her, the light bulb hanging from the ceiling and Luffy.

Quinn furrowed her brows in worry and moved on her knees to the boy to check if he was alright. To her fortune, beside being tied up too, he wasn't injured at all but even looked like he was sleeping fine.

Leaning back again, she let out a small breath. Her head turned around to check out the surroundings one more, only to confirm again that there was nothing or no one else in. She stood up and walked to the metal door on the left of a corner and pressed her ear against it. As she heard nothing, she kept moving from wall to wall, listening to every inch. But no, the walls seemed too thick as to hear something.

"Miss Heady," behind her, she suddenly heard Luffy awake, "will we die now?"

Quinn looked down at the sleepy boy on his butt. "No one's gonna die today."

His stomach started to grumble clearly hearable. "I'm so hungry..."

She walked back and knelt next to him. "Maybe you should keep sleeping a little, you won't be hungry then."

Luffy pouted and lay down on his side while his stomach didn't cease the noise. "How I'm supposed to sleep when I'm hungry..."

"I'm sure-"

"What if we'll die here? Those gangsters kidnap us, right?"

Her brows curled again, and she hardly found a response. A boy at his age shouldn't be thinking about death, no one had taught her during her study how to deal with situation like this one. She neither wanted to tell him any lies, nor did she want to confront him with the truth. No, adults didn't know anything, she was only 23, a child herself.

"Luffy..." Quinn tried smiling at him. "Don't worry. I'm sure everything will be alright."

* * *

Sabo and Ace stood in nowhere, punctually as the opponents wanted. They took a cab that had held a little farther from the actual meeting point and decided to walk the rest of the path. The place itself was about a one-hour car ride outside of town. Nothing but an empty road, masts and miles of grassland dressed their surroundings until a ten minutes walk later, both stood in front of a small gas station.

Both guys surveyed the place from small distance. It looked inactive for a long time already and showed no sign of any living soul. As Ace checked out the rusty fuel dispensers, everything seemed to stick together, thus wasn't movable at all.

He stroked his hair with one hand back and sighed. "Geez, it's hot out here."

Sabo was holding his cellphone to his ear, informing Law on the other line, "we're there."

 _"What do you see?"_

"Here's an old gas station, looks shut for a while, but no one to see yet."

 _"I see, we better make the call short."_

"Right, see you."

He hung up and looked over to Ace who had leaned casual against the fuel dispenser, having both hands shoved into his pockets. "And?" asked he while looking at Sabo in anticipation.

"I guess now it's just waiting," Sabo said and walked over to a shady spot to rest in tailor-fashion on the ground.

Ace turned his head from left to right, scanning the long road with nothing in sight that could resemble another car or a person. "You sure we're right?"

"Yeah, the cab driver just followed his GPS."

"Either too late or they're watching us." Looking back at the guy on the ground, he noticed that he wasn't talkative at the moment but rather stared pensively down into space. "What is?"

"I shouldn't be mad at Trafalgar for what happened, I'm no better."

"You mean that he started some fight so that our little brother and your girlfriend got kidnapped?"

"Yeah..." Sabo let out a low breath. "I mean, it could be also other people, but he seemed pretty confident about it. Now both are in danger because I wasn't there."

"Hey, if I haven't left him in town, it wouldn't have happened as well, and- geez, Sabo, don't be a softie now, it's no one's fault. Don't worry, we gonna get them out."

Sabo put one elbow on his leg and nestled his face on his hand. Luffy was just a child that troubled himself so easy with a cheeky mouth, while Quinn was a timid young woman. He couldn't rest his mind from thoughts that might could be done to them, hoping that someone would come and help them soon. But as worried as he was about either, Ace was right. There was no place to fall into self-recrimination. Koala would probably say something like 'things happened already, you can't change it; just focus on the plan and everything's gonna be alright', and she would be right with it as so often. Thinking about Koala, he was sure she would be pretty mad at him now for confronting the kidnappers without police support.

"Oi," Ace pulled him out of his thoughts.

Sabo looked up and turned his head to the direction Ace was also watching. They saw a car coming, stopping in front of the gas station. Two strangers got off the vehicle, both casual dress and in average height with average built.

"Are you here for nine?" asked one of them as they halted in front of the two young men that had gotten together, next to each other.

"Well, it's actually already over nine," Ace replied, unimpressed about their tough act.

"Shut up," he said and pulled out a gun from the back of his jeans, pointing at them. "Hands up and turn around."

Sabo and Ace exchanged looks for a brief moment before they did as the guy wanted. Shachi had mentioned a gun, but they haven't expected it right then.

"So, we'll tie your hands now and you'll get into the car, alright?" the other guy said.

Both threatened didn't respond, let alone care much about the dude's order but kept staring at each other while the two stood behind them, one still holding the gun and the other rummaging his backpack to get out a rope. Communicating wordless with each other as their life got threatened, the dude with the gun asked unamused about their silence, "heard us?"

"If not..." he added and pressed the bull barrel of his gun against Ace's back, stepping closer to whisper, "ya'll gonna die."

Ace smirked challenged and displeased about his behavior. "I sure won't die."

In a jerk he made a turn, confusing the guy with the gun before he could disarm him and hit his head with his own weapon. "Urgh!"

The other guy wanted to act against both young man, but got cowed as the gun suddenly pointed at him while his colleague lay unconscious on the ground.

"Into the car." Ace turned the game and the guy raised his arms in surrender and moved with frightened posture inside.

"I'll call my boss! You gonna regret this!" the dude dared to say, before Sabo stepped nonchalant up and pulled his cellphone out of his jacket.

"And to make sure you won't reach anyone..." he said and dropped it on the ground, stepping on it to get it break.

The guy looked at it and back into Sabo's face, gulping. "He'll think it's strange if I don't answer it."

Backwards, Sabo stepped slowly over to his unconscious colleague and crouched down. He palpated his pockets for the guy's phone and pulled it out as he found it. "You'll answer this one."

Sure that they were on the save side now, Ace kept threatening their frightened opponent with the gun while Sabo put the other dude into the trunk. Sitting in front of the wheel with both hands still up, the beads of sweat developed on the guy's temples, he didn't dare to hold long eye contact and was with 100% guarantee aware of his situation. It almost bored Ace to sit there and holding the gun up while watching him.

As the guy in the trunk was tied, Sabo got inside as well and sat down on the back between the front seats. "We can go."

"Now better bring us to the others," Ace told the guy to do. The latter put his hands slowly to the wheel and started the engine to drive off. Ace then turned his face to Sabo. "Why exactly did you break his phone?"

Sabo looked with blank eyes. "Hm?"

...

The car reached their destination in a short ride, no more than ten minutes away from where they had met. As it was almost ten, sunset started and the view of it around the area was fantastic. An old factory, probably for chemicals, stood on an empty space and was isolated from the rest. Though, the fence that once had kept passengers out got pushed down and lay now on the ground half the way around the area. The bright orange sun was shooting warm sun rays against the walls and now and then you heard a crow croaking. If they wouldn't know better, they would consider that a peaceful place to rest.

Anyway, they didn't hesitate to incapacitate the driver as well after arrival. Both had no clue how many opponents they had, thus tried to exclude as many as they could so far those were in the minority.

Sabo shoved his phone back in his pockets. "I've sent Trafalgar our location. When we're sure they're out of danger, we can get the police here."

"Means, we have to wait now," said Ace and leaned back in relaxed posture.

"Or we'll get inside without him."

"Those dudes didn't even know where Luffy and Quinn are," Ace responded, looking at the unconscious guy next to him, "I don't know if it's a good idea."

"Yeah, three and two's a difference..."

"You still got a bad conscience?"

"I do."

"I'm sure they'll be alright," Ace said flippantly as if annoyed from his sentimentalism, "we're sneaking in, get them out and the cops will be there."

Sabo then opened the door and stepped outside.

"Where are you going?"

"Inside."

* * *

It was almost dark as Law was on his way to the location Sabo had sent. The roads seemed to disappear by any minute, different from the city where streetlights and shopping windows lightened it. That what you knew as semi-darkness in town was just dark on the country side.

Law felt huge responsibility about the whole situation. He was sure those kidnappers belonged in any way to the thugs he had been fighting once. Though, it was out of his mind to blame himself as to that moment, it had been necessary. No one could know that months later something like that would happen. All he could do now was handling according the plan. He dropped the idea of calling the police beforehand, they shouldn't be involved, not until Quinn and Luffy were safe.

Riding his car in pure silence, his cellphone chimed and he answered with speakers on. "Yeah?"

"Law, where are you now?" asked Judy from the other side.

"On my way," said he.

"You bring Quinn back, right...?" She sounded calmer than normally, worried. After Shachi had called her, she showed no sign of hysteria. She was more a settled person that suppressed her uproar on the inside.

"Judy, you'll be inform when she's back."

"I-"

Law hung up. Maybe she believed in him, but making promises without guarantee was out of his interest. He could ensure no one that things would turn out well. He had no interest in disappointing anyone including himself.

When he arrived at the old factory, parked a little away from the spot, it was already so dark his eyes couldn't grasp a thing. A small lamp that hung from the wall next to a door, which seemed to be the entrance, was the only light source right then. Everything else was tinted almost black, he could only recognize weak contours of the woods in the distance while stars and the moon seemed covered by clouds.

First thing he had to do was checking on Sabo and Ace. He had sent them a message on his way here, but haven't received any answer yet. Sabo had told, his work had given him a device that was able to connect even the conditions were bad, but outside here, _Law_ lost the signal completely. It was predictable though since he already noticed a very weak signal on his way there. Still, the two guys were supposed to be around and so he made a small walk, searching for both.

After a few minutes he gave up. Narrowing his brows, he looked at the wide entrance door that stood open. He hated when things didn't go according to plan, and he hated it when he had no clue what went wrong. Thinking about it, he gave the result three options. A, they went inside without him; B, they have been caught; or C, they never made it there.

His priority number one, however, was finding Quinn.

* * *

It had been a few hours since Quinn and Luffy were locked inside the small room. Sitting on the ground and doing nothing caused some goosebumps on her arms. For sure, it was getting colder, making things harder than necessary. Quinn's eyelids felt heavier than before. She glanced down to Luffy who was lying next to her, still sleeping and snoring. At least he could relax for a little.

Since they had been brought there, no one had come back to check on them. Now and then she had heard voices in front of the door or the echoing halls in general, but it didn't seem like anyone was coming to help. If she could, she would make a plan herself to escape, but being pinioned in a room that provided nothing to escape, with a grade schooler, Quinn would never be able to outwit those men. They weren't necessarily taller, but definitely stronger.

She sighed and let her body down, now lying on the side. Quinn was scared that those guy would trick the police and the others. She had no clue what the reason for their kidnapping was and feared it to be for blackmailing that would end with lies. Imagining the worst scenarios in her head, she squinted her eyes and forced herself to think about something different. A more positive out coming.

When the door suddenly opened, Quinn's eyes shot open and she straightened up promptly.

"You gonna stay here," a guy, whom she hadn't seen before, told, his words not aimed at her.

Wondering what was happening next, she glared at the door quietly until her eyes grew in size. Quinn was thunderstruck. Law walked calmly inside with both hands tied behind his back too, saying no word.

"Trafalgar!" she called out as the door behind him shut, somewhat perplexed about his sudden appearance. "Why are you here?"

"Came to free you, but I failed."

Quinn furrowed her brows and didn't know what to response. According to his condition, he seemed to be fine, it didn't look like he had been fighting. She hadn't expected him to show himself like that, seeming to take things easier than comfortable, deduced by the way he acted.

Walking inside more, Law was tilting his head to every corner of this room.

"In this room's nothing useful," Quinn told as she was watching his pensive face surveying their little environment.

He turned to her. She looked down.

"Don't tell me you're not relieved to see me," Law said.

"I am... But now you're a captive too..." She kept her gaze alow and leaned against the wall, seeming to avoid his eyes. "What is this place anyway? We woke up in here."

"It's an old factory somewhere out of town. We're isolated. There's no signal at all," he answered. "They out-numbered us. Those guys belong to the guys we put in jail back then."

When Quinn didn't answer, Law studied her behavior more. It wasn't the reaction he had expected from her when seeing him. He thought of something more talkative or welcoming; but well, she was a hostage, what had he expected?

Quinn made another deep inhalation, shaking her head slowly. "This is so bad, this is so bad..."

"The only thing we can do now's waiting."

"Yeah..."

Law kept quiet and sat down next to her with a clear gap between them.

They stayed like that for a while and Law thought it would be best not to start any conversation. If she felt like talking, she surely would do it on her own. That's at least how he knew her.

A while later then, Quinn pulled her legs closer to her body and lay her forehead on her knees. She broke the silence. "Judy's gonna kill me when she knows... I mean, if those won't do first."

He didn't look at her, but answered like a simple reaction of a robot. "Don't worry about Judy's reaction, she does know you got kidnapped."

"Sorry, what?" asked she, darting her eyes at him as if he had said something wrong.

Not impressed by her reaction but a bit surprised, he asked, "I thought she's your bestfriend, shouldn't I've told her?"

"O-of course!" said she, "I mean... yeah... I dunno..."

She seemed somewhat churned up inside, her face was constantly down. "You're alright?"

"No," Quinn answered, quite sarcastically and smiled as per sample. "I got kidnapped, my hands are tied up and I'm locked in an empty room of an old factory somewhere far from town. I'm scared."

"Peanut." Perhaps she hadn't expected that someone would come in the way he had, getting himself captured. Maybe she was expecting a hero? Sabo? Anyone but him?

"I-I'm just too young to die...! I never achieved my dreams, never got married, have a family, a DOG, I miss the chance to see my dad, I'm leaving Judy behind, things between me and Sabo aren't done yet, I-I-I-!"

"Oi, Peanut," he cut her off with strict tone as she started to get upset.

"What?!"

"Calm down."

"But aren't you scared too? Is that how you've imagined your life to be? Only 25, working hard and then die? This is so not fair, I don't wanna die... Oh my god! What if it hurts?! I don't want it to be painful for any of us... God... they'll murder us, either shooting, stabbing or tor-"

"Calm down."

"-ture us to death. Yeah, and the police will find our corpses and never the mu-"

"Peanut, calm down."

"But-"

"You're annoying."

Quinn paused. Her brows narrowed as she stared into his expressionless face. "I'm sorry! I don't know how you can be so calm as if this is a refrigerator with infinity content! I don't know what's gonna happen to you, me or Luffy! Not even Shachi and Penguin are safe! We could be killed any moment and all you tell me is I'm annoying because this scares the shit out of me!"

"If you keep panicking that won't make anything better."

"Yeah, that might be, but I can't freaking control my fears like you! Do you even know what fear is?! No! Because you're an emotionless, insensitive man with no empathy at all!"

Law didn't respond to her statement and both were only looking at each other in silence.

Until Quinn realized what she just had accused.

She drew back and looked in shame away. "I'm sorry..."

"It's fine," Law said and looked ahead, "you're right."

"Nooo... I'm," she began and let out a long exhausted breath. "You came to save us and I'm just yelling at you..."

Someone said, you get to know a person better if you take everything away from him and see how the person act next. It would show you the true side of someone; weaknesses and flaws that they tried to hide or weren't aware of themselves. Quinn had all rights to be in fear about the situation, she had all rights to freak out, and he thought she had all rights to yell at him. For someone like her, scared of maniacs and violence the most, this must be horror; and for Law it seemed almost inevitable to see those sides of her. Because they belonged to her just like her strong sides.

"God, I'm so stupid!" she groaned at herself, bumping her head on her knees.

"Peanut."

She lifted her head a little, looking at him with a pair of eyes that looked like they relinquished. "I'm so sorry..."

It was almost painful seeing her giving him that stare he couldn't figure quite right. What was she thinking about him? Was she mad? Was she blaming him? Or was she just saddened and desperate? They made him not wanting to look at them.

"Trafalgar..."

"I'm here now, nothing will happen to you."

Surprise spread in those eyes and he hoped also some confidence about the situation. Silence fed her mouth for a moment as they kept the stares at each other.

Slowly, she straightened and budged a little closer to him, leaning her head on his shoulder. "Thank you," said she quietly. "I feel safer when you're around."

...

When time passed, Law wasn't sure how much it had been. His sense of time wasn't bad, but under this condition even he felt overchallenged. Still leaning against the wall as it seemed like hours had passed, he tilted his face down to his shoulder. Quinn's head was still on, heavier than before. She must had fallen asleep a while ago. He was glad to see her able to relax a little after that emotional breakdown. The situation must had put her under much stress, but for Luffy's sake she must had forced herself to stay awake.

Suddenly, Law heard steps and someone inserting a key into the keyhole. He jiggled with the shoulder Quinn was leaning on and her eyes opened. Hearing herself someone was coming in, she straightened and looked over to Law. As expected said he nothing and only glared with his cold eyes at the door where one guy came in, the other following right behind.

"No sleeping," said one, looking at Luffy who was still asleep.

Quinn gathered some courage to respond displeased, but intimidated, "he's a child, he's just tired."

"And ill," Law added. She tried not to react to his random comment but only listened confused to what he said next. "He said he needs to vomit."

The guy crunched. "Then he should do in the corner."

"Hey," said his mate behind him, "if he does, we have to clean it up like last time."

 _Last time..._ Quinn thought. Looked like they weren't the first ones those people ever held captive.

Thought about what his colleague had said, the guy gave in and stared straight into Law's eyes as if challenging him. "Fine, I'll get him a bucket."

"Will this take long, I don't know when he will," asked Law.

"Unfortunate for him, he has to hold back a little." Both dudes turned around and stepped out of the room, complaining, "where do they think they are, as if we're a hotel. Pff."

As they had been gone, the room went back to silence for a short period. Quinn then moved her eyes to Law. "Ill? What were you talking about?"

"You have to do as I say now."

"Huh?" He turned to her and Quinn withdrew her irritated face, now staring at him confused.

"On the inner left side of my jacket, there's a little pocket. I want you to get out what's inside there."

"What?" Quinn eyed him briefly, looking on the left side of the casual blazer he was wearing. It took her a moment to realize what he had actually said, but when she did, her eyes widened and she whispered loudly, "are you planning to escape?"

"Yeah."

Quinn shook her head frantically, refusing to execute his order. "This is crazy, they'll be back any moment."

"Hence the door open."

Slowly understanding what was going on, she staggered over his idea. It was suddenly so obvious that Law had remained silent the whole time on purpose. "You planned that..." He had been waiting until those people were sure about him being no threat anymore, and then he had waited for them to come back only to sent them away with guarantee they would return. "I see! If you would've tried to escape before, you couldn't be sure if those guys would bust in and screw the plan, so you waited to presume...!"

"Right."

"And-and-"

"Peanut," Law cut her off, "my jacket."

Quinn snapped back, still taken aback of the whole situation. She looked at his jacket again and felt a little helpless. "How am I supposed to do that?"

"Get on your knees and palpate for it."

"What?" Law raised a brow as she hesitated and looked embarrassed away. She sucked her lower lip and slightly blushed in discomfort. "But, I-"

"I won't look. Really," said he, grasping what her problem was.

"Promise," Quinn said and pointed her pink face at him, quite serious in look.

Law smirked. "There's nothing to look anyway."

Instantly, she half-lidded her eyes and responded somewhat annoyed, "I said 'promise', couldn't you just give that back?"

On her knees then, Quinn moved in front of Law, standing with her back to him. His eyes swept aside as told. Blinded, Quinn carefully got closer with her hands to his chest to look for the inner pocket. Her blush increased when she touched around his chest.

"Hurry up," he prompted her.

"But don't look...!"

"You shall worry about other things," said he. Unfortunate for him that he had told her he wouldn't give that view a chance; not staring when the girl he liked was shoving out her ass right in front of him, desperately fumbling on his jacket. But Law was a guy who stood to his words (or at least most of the time).

Trying not to fall under pressure, her face became somewhat narky as she tried to concentrate. "I think I got it..." Her hand slipped into a small hole on the inner satin lining of his blazer, and she grabbed a thin and cold metal item. "Wow, this feels heavy."

"Get around and give it to me."

Quinn and moved behind him and handed it over. When she turned back to check what she just had given, she was shocked. "That's-!

"I told you, you never know," said Law, trying to cut the rope with the pocket knife he carried around pretty often.

Quinn's mouth stood open, but quiet while she was watching how he cut through the rope until it loosened from his hand and fell off itself. When his hands were free, he stretched them swiftly before he got over to her rope to get her off them as well.

Being at least freed from that, Quinn held her arms one after another and rotated her wrists. "But you won't stab them, would you?!" asked she as she regarded the small blade in his hand in fright.

"Only in emergency," said he and crouched down to cut off the rope around the sleeping boy's wrists.

"And when you accidentally kill them?" asked Quinn worried.

"Well, I can't promise that not to happen. But don't worry, I won't stab someone bloody if I won't see the need."

"And when do ya see the need?"

"Peanut," Law said a little exasperated about the many questions, "I don't know, when they touch you?"

She paused briefly and sank her gaze in shyness.

"Wake him up," said Law then and motioned down at the sleeping boy. "We don't have much time left."

Quinn nodded and shook the boy awake, trying to reach him with tender, only slightly panicking voice.

Luffy then opened his eyes and scratched his head, not noticing that his hands were free to move. "Is food ready?" asked he, yawning.

"Luffy, we're getting out of here."

"Here's the plan. Listen," said Law and got down to them. "We're on the 4th floor of this building. On the right side of this room is a staircase. When the guy comes back, we'll outwit him. I run out first to the left. You take the boy and run out the right after the hall's clean. Just go straight and pass the door. There you take the stairs down."

"Wait, what?" Quinn asked irritated, not sure if she had heard right.

Law looked into her face and didn't move a muscle but kept the stern expression. "Understood?"

"No," Quinn replied, her brows curled to bewilderment. "What about you?"

"When you're out of the building, go right and hide outside until we come," said he and her head tilted in surprise about the used pronoun. He cleared that up as well after that given expression, "Ace and Sabo are here as well, but I don't know where exactly, so I gonna find them first."

Her jaw fell once more in disbelief and in her eyes rose the apprehension.

"I've parked a little away from here, when we get everyone, we'll leave this place." Law looked at Quinn who was only staring, saying no word. She was still distraught of the whole situation, about the new information he just had put. "Can you make this?"

"I-I don't know..." Quinn answered, inhaling as her upper body raised. "Wha-wha-what if they'll get me and Luffy?"

"They got me here through that way and it was unoccupied. Else, I'll try to distract them as much as I can. Maybe the police's already there when you're outside," said Law, but the way it sounded wasn't comforting at all. It didn't promise everything to go alright.

"You called them?" asked Quinn, stunned about the next unexpected information.

"No," said Law. "On my way here the signal died. After Sabo's sent me the location, it was only enough to send Dr. Dillan the coordinates to her pager. I don't know if she's managed to understand it, but it was worth a try."

He was abnormally calm in such a situation, but the way he thoughtfully decided what to say, leaving out unnecessary information and including only those to make her trust him. Quinn was confounded yet fascinated.

"Be ready," said he.

As he was about to stand up, Quinn grip his arm and made him turn back to her. "Did you get yourself captured on purpose?"

Law stayed silent for a moment as she anticipated an answer, staring at him. "I did," said he then and Quinn squeezed his arm tighter.

"Promise me you'll get out safe..."

He got up and she let go of him. At that moment, letting go of him was the least satisfying decision she had made.

She preferred to keep her hand around his arm, getting over and snugged into his arms. Not that he was the type to share hugs with someone ever, but it was what she at least wished before the door went open and Law attacked the guy that brought the bucket for Luffy. The guy hit the ground as Law managed to beat him unconscious with one fast and strong strike so that Quinn shrugged and took a step back, staring at the motionless body on the floor with eyes still slightly opened.

Law looked at her and nodded, saying "good luck," only to capture her eyes staring at him as if he had done something wrong. "You-"

"You beat him unconscious, just like that...?"

"Peanut, I'm leaving now," he said, trying to keep her thoughts to the plan.

She looked at him and the guy in return, seeming to be still disconcerted about what she just witnessed. Right, Quinn knew that he was strong, but she had never seen him in action before, being that violent.

Staring impatiently at the door and back to her, Law inhaled and moved up to her. "Oi." He grabbed around her upper arms to get her attention back when she still seemed absent.

Quinn then stared down his hands and slowly back up into his face. "Doc... can Sabo do this too...?"

"Peanut. I'm _leaving_ now, and you'll _run_. Okay?"

"You could kill people like that..."

"I kno-"

"How do you know to do that?"

Biting his inner cheeks, he took another deep breath and glanced swiftly aside. "Those are the bad guys, not m-" He cut himself off as he heard voices were getting closer. Now suddenly put under pressure that he hadn't had before, he stepped backward while holding the eye contact with her before he would run out.

"Good luck..." Quinn mumbled.

Outside of that room angry voices of different men sounded, yelling clearly at the guy who just had run out. They were screaming about something like calling for the others; growls and groans of pain created a pretty mess. Carefully, she peered around the corner when it got quieter only to see the bunch was chasing for Law.

There was the click. She had no time to waste.

She turned her attention back to Luffy and carry him on her arms. "Come Luffy."

"What about Torao?" asked the boy.

"Torao will come after."

"Are we leaving him alone?"

"No, he's with Ace and Sabo, don't worry."

She checked one more if the coast was clear and then ran out according to the plan, trying to find their way out of this building. As Law had told, it was visibly old. The ground was pure stone, peppered with lots of rubbish, broken glass pieces in all sizes and other clutter she couldn't identify. Rusty metal pipes stretched along the walls and also disappeared from the floor to the ceiling. It was a long corridor she rushed through, very poor lightened so that it was only enough to figure the paths.

She kept her way straight forward just as Law had told, not looking back if anyone was behind her. Her heart pumped, Adrenaline shot through her veins, giving her all the strength she needed right then. And while she was running, she was thinking.

Law was planning like a genius. He was skilled like a survival artist. He was fighting like a pro. A scary pro. And he said he was just a doctor; a surgeon; a normal young man at their local hospital. Normal? What was normal anyway? He definitely wasn't. He was more.

The walls on her left ended and led into a junction, a rusty metal bridge built through a giant factory hall. Allowing herself a glimpse down, Quinn gulped as it was too dark to see the end, but also appeared quite high. On the top was the broken ceiling were normally the moonlight would shine through if there was any. But it was the sky Quinn appreciated seeing again.

"Where are we going now?" asked Luffy.

She checked the way they were coming from and then the big door that would lead her according to Law to the staircase. "Keep running straight."

So she ran with the boy in her arms. Determined that they would leave this place safely, her limbs forget about tiredness and carried her body fully awake, with the adrenaline rush, through the building. It was no longer until Quinn saw the end of the corridor, thus the staircase Law had mentioned. In full hope and relief, she raced straight into its direction.

The moment she had seen Law throwing that punch, like he knew exactly what he was doing, like it wasn't the first time but one of a dozen, she had been awed. She wondered who that guy was, what made him doing that, and if she could trust him. A skilled fighter was no different to a person owning a gun. Would you be comfortable around someone with a gun?

Quinn halted instantly as she could glimpse from the corner before even running out. With a heart stop. She stumbled backwards and felt the pounding of her heart stronger than before.

"Miss Hea-"

Quinn covered his mouth and whispered, "don't say anything."

Standing at the end of the dark corridor, the staircase widened slightly into the left and right side and was alighted only by a bulb hanging from the ceiling in the center. When she had run out for a brief moment, Quinn could grasp two people chatting with each other. It didn't appear like they had seen her as she could still listen to the small talk they had. To get to the stair, she would have to walk around on the other side, passing those thugs.

 _No..._ she thought and bumped with her back quietly against the wall, sliding down slowly. _Why here? Damn..._

Luffy looked up at her with questioning eyes, not understanding why she had stopped. Quinn bit her lower lip and offered him red eyes back, fighting against her tears. What was she supposed to do now? Finding another way down? Should she better had used the bridge? Should she wait and hope they would go away? But then they would either use the corridor or the stairs down. A 50-50 chance.

"Miss Heady..." Luffy mumbled under her palm. She let go of it and hugged him with closed eyes while breathing in and out slowly.

 _Trafalgar..._ she thought desperately as if calling for advice. No, she wouldn't be comfortable around someone with a gun. But she had no option but to learn to trust someone who could take control over the situation.

"Don't you have a plan?" asked Luffy.

She needed a plan. Right away. Someone please should come up with a plan.

Her eyes fell back to the staircase and she was staring at it without a comment, blanking out the voices in the background.

A plan. A plan. A plan. A freaking plan. What would Law do? He would use whatever was there, whatever he was capable of, he would go in with the risk.

"Luffy, listen to me." Quinn straightened her head and put her hands on Luffy's shoulder. "We gonna make this." Over her spaghetti top, she was wearing a flannel shirt that she unbuttoned and took off. "I tie you to my back now and you're holding onto me as tight as you can, okay?" Holding both ends of the sleeves, she twisted the piece of clothing and put it around Luffy. Luffy lay his arms around her neck and she tightened the shirt as tight as possible around her waist, enclosing him. "Don't let go, understand?"

"Understand," he responded, nodding. "What are you trying?"

Quinn got up while giving him a piggyback ride. "You ready?"

His mouth pulled a tensed bow down and he held tighter onto her without even knowing what she was going to do next. Quinn walked a little back and then let go of him, leaving him hanging on her back, and started to run. She was running towards the staircase. She would do what she was capable of.

"What the? Hey you!" the guys on the side shouted as Quinn appeared from the corner.

Her hands were trembling and sweating. She didn't stop running until both her hands grabbed the banister and she jumped up on it, Luffy squinting his eyes immediately as he looked down into the dark whole in front of them. And then Quinn jumped.

"What is she trying?! We're on the 4th floor!"

What she was trying? Well, something she hadn't done for a while now. The time suddenly seemed to had stopped, and she felt how her body was standing in the air. Her body was aiming for the other side of the stairway, one story lower. For that millisecond Quinn was flying, she told herself she would make it. Suddenly, it didn't seem impossible anymore to escape; she felt she did something right, outwitting those thugs.

Her hand clasped around the banister of the lower stairway across with the soles of her shoes crashing against the rails. She breathed in and out loudly, feeling how Luffy held onto her with all his might so that their clashing skin burnt as gravity wanted to tug him down from her.

"Where are the others?!" the guys above shouted down the staircase as they saw her hanging.

Quinn tensed all her muscles up to her fingertips since her sweaty hands made it harder for her not to fall. Then she looked down, checking on the next story beneath them. She let off the railing and fell, only to catch on those of the next story. Luffy screamed in fear as their fall stopped with a jerk, almost ripping him off her back.

She felt the pull in her shoulders as well. Her knees had hit the rails before her legs could stabilize her again. Those were going to have big contusions. "You alright?!"

"I'm alright!" Luffy shouted his answer and buried his face into her back.

"Up there!" a guy from beneath shouted and Quinn panicked and pulled her body up as fast as she could. Climbing over the banister, she landed on her knees and hands on some shards of glass and other litter. A brief draft through her teeth caused a hiss of pain before she pushed up and straightened Luffy on her back.

Through the echo, she heard the guys from afore were on their way to her and she started to ran along another corridor, looking almost the same as the upper one.

"Miss Heady, I'm falling!" Luffy screamed, the jar causing him to slip slowly.

"Luffy, hold on!" Quinn could only yell back and hold him tighter to her.

Running through another door that closed behind her again, they ended up at a cross junction. Either she ran to the left whereas a light bulb lightened the end of the corridor; straight forward through the giant steel door; or to the right into what seemed to be a deadlock. But that deadlock had a window.

"Where are we going?" asked the boy again as he looked upon her shoulder at the way she decided to take.

A light breeze came her way as no glass was covering the square-shaped opening in the wall. Standing in front of it, she looked outside to see nothing but the night sky with crickets sounding in the air. It was so weird to know that in this building was a big turmoil when the land outside appeared so peaceful.

"Miss Heady?"

Quinn leaned outside and looked from left to right and down. On the wall she found two old pipes running down. "God, I must be crazy..." she mumbled to herself and climbed onto the window.

"Are you jumping again?" asked Luffy, scared.

"Kinda?" said she and got up, holding onto the pipes while one foot pushed against the wall of the other side of them, the other still on the window opening. "Luffy, don't let go, okay?"

Her arms were flexing so hard, the light weight of the boy became a ton so fast. If she would let go now, or if those pipes would give in to gravity, both would fall down from the second floor. Luffy would land first and she probably on him. "Dear god, I'm begging you..."

As she felt Luffy's nod on her back, she pulled her other leg away from the window and started to slide down. And it wasn't smooth at all. The pipes were also pretty rusty and cut into her palms so that she let go after two-third of the way and fell down. She landed on her feet first, but then lost her balance and fell on her butt.

"Ow!" Luffy complaint as his butt hit the dirty ground as well.

 _Shit, shit, shit, shit,_ Quinn wailed mentally and shook her bleeding hands. She blew against the burning and felt how the blood tickled along her palms to her wrist.

Luffy, who was still tied to her, asked, "can I get off now?"

Snapping back to him, she nodded frantically and smeared off the blood on her pants before she started fiddling on the big knot she had made. Her hands were shaking and slowed down the process even though she tried to speed up as much as she could. _Calm down, Quinn, calm down,_ she kept telling herself and checked every few seconds if anyone was coming. _You're outside now, you can hide, you're safe!_

Right after the shirt fell off, she got up and took Luffy by his hand, pulling him with her. He noticed the stickiness in her hand and turned his brows to worry. "Are you bleeding?"

She wasn't sure which entrance Law had taken and where one even was, but she walked into the direction he had told her to, keep going right. The fence around the building showed no end and her head moved from spot to spot until slowly her eyes adjusted to the darkness and tried to find either Law, Sabo or Ace.

"Miss Head-"

"Pssht."

"But Miss-"

"Luffy, not now," she told, half strictly, half in desperate.

No one was there yet, not even the police. She bumped her fist against her forehead and tried to calm her excessive breathing. Why was it just taking so long? Why couldn't they be there already?

Keep moving, Quinn passed many hiding opportunities, but she felt like she wasn't there yet. She kept moving through that big industrial area, hoping the fence would end. What seemed to be a dozen of minutes were actually just a couple.

Hearing something from a corner, she startled and pulled Luffy panicky away. Quinn sneaked behind a big rusty container. She tried to move it a bit to hide themselves better, but eventually gave up as it didn't work. Crouching down on the ground, her breathing became slower and she tried to turn off that intense tone. "We're hiding here," she told Luffy who was standing in front of her, looking into her face, "the others will come and then we'll leave."

"How long do we have to wait?" asked he.

She tried to put on a smile, her mouth corners moving slightly up in tension. "Not that long, they're right here."

And so the two waited. Quinn leaned against the corner as far away from the gap they had slipped into as possible. Luffy was right next to her and she put her arm around him, pressing him close to her. Her heart beat so fast, it was hurting and she tried to suppress the suspense that brew in her and forced out tears that would have a bad timing. _They'll be right here, don't worry, Quinn._ Each heartbeat hammered against her chest. She felt like it was getting worse than before, thus she closed her eyes to control her breathing.

"Miss Heady, I'm hungry..." Luffy said and his stomach grumbled.

Quinn opened her eyes again and looked down at Luffy. Though the thought of him being here in this extreme situation was indescribably terrible, it wasn't deniable for her to say she was happy that she wasn't alone. She snickered a little, whispering, "when we're back, I'm sure Dadan will cook for you a big meal-"

Quinn held on instantly when she heard someone. She stared with widened eyes at the small gap.

"They got away," a guy on the other side said.

"Fuck," a second one responded, "but anyway, we got the others."

"Miss Hea-" Quinn clasped her bloody hand over his mouth.

Even they sounded like they would give a shit about their escape, those guys were still there, she could hear them chatting. Tensed, she held the boy tightly while her hand still covered his mouth. Quinn wouldn't let go until she was sure they were gone, she couldn't risk that he would say anything and reveal them on accident. This time those thugs must had worse ways to deal with them since they just tried to escape. _Trafalgar..._ she mentally whined again as those guys didn't head off. They turned on their cellphone flashlights and Quinn scared up, contracting all her muscles and tried to make herself even smaller in the corner. _Please, please, please, please,_ she prayed. If those would check behind the container, Quinn knew that would mean the end. She could only hope that the darkness made them paying less attention for such hideout.

And she was lucky, because the lights moved farther away.

"You're crying," Luffy said as her hand eased from his blood-smudged mouth. In disgust he spat a bit and wiped his mouth before looking back up at her. Quinn tilted her face to him, trying to fight the burn in her eyes. "Ace told me, adults don't cry."

"I'm not _crying_ ," she claimed and giggled a little, wiping the tears with her arm away.

"I'm not stupid, you're definitely crying!"

Quinn couldn't help but laugh. "Seems like I'm a terrible liar."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

She looked into the boy's face and didn't know what to say. Her lips offered a small smile, touched about his sincerity so that she embrace him in her arms. "Tell me when your brothers mock you again, okay? I'll tell them, you're a very brave young man."

"Peanut?!"

Quinn's eyes shot open and she stood up immediately by the sound of Law's voice. He called her again, the sound of his voice being louder then. She peered out of the container and saw someone moving in the shadows, unsettling her. Until she could identify his voice coming from that one.

Quinn ran out and Law spot her right away. "Doc!"

He rushed over to the container. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," told she, nodding. Looking around him, she noticed that something was missing. "Where's Sabo and Ace?"

"Here," said he suddenly and pushed his keys into her hands without much explanation, "my car is down the street, no more than 100 meters from here."

She accepted it, though confused, and asked so, "couldn't you find them?"

"No, you gotta get away from here."

Quinn paused in bewilderment again. "Huh?"

He looked around, making sure that no one came before facing her one more (or what was visible). "The fence's turned over just a few meters from here. Get into my car and drive away as fast as you can and make sure you'll catch up with the police."

As he continued his rush, Quinn interrupted him. "Wait, no!"

Law tilted around.

"What about you?"

"I'll go and get the others."

"But-"

"There's no time! Just go!"

"I can't drive! The last time I was driving was s-seven years ago...!"

"You'll make it," he tried to encourage her, though it sounded quite flat and more like an easy matter of fact.

"No, I can't do this...!" Quinn claimed though and shook her head, tears boiling up again. "And-and I never have driven a sports car, what if I'll get it destroyed, or put Luffy in danger-?"

"It's just a car like any other too."

"But-"

"Imagine it's the same as bumper car on the funfair," Law said, "nothing else."

Law wasn't fully aware of the situation yet and took her insecurities not too seriously. He was convinced she was just whining for nothing, overplaying the situation more than necessary so that he choose to leave her behind, moving on.

That was when he hadn't looked over his shoulder to check on her a last time while distancing from her.

Quinn didn't move from the spot. She was pressing her fists against her eyes, made him understanding how this was more than her little dose of crying.

Such a bad timing...

She managed to drew him back to her. "Peanut."

"I don't want you to go..." Quinn cried quietly, not showing him her face.

"You gotta get away from here immediately," he said and she shook her head, refusing to.

Law bit the inside of his cheeks and was lost for the moment. How could he convinced her to go? "Where's the boy?"

"Hiding..."

"Listen. I have to go, and you too. Think about Luffy. Think about Ace." He grabbed her wrists and freed her face from them, staring into her crying face. "Think about Sabo."

Quinn kept silence and tried to get hold of herself, the keys still hanging from her fingers. Law took the bundle and pressed it into her hand, his eyes not leaving her. "Get _Luffy_ outta here."

She sobbed. "But I really haven't driven for so long..."

"You're an adult woman, I know you can do this. It's not even a full sports car."

It took her a moment to accept the plan, but she eventually did. "Please get back safe..."

Law didn't promise. He only took off his blazer and put it around her when realizing she was standing only in that spaghetti top, exposed to the night temperatures. Then he got away.

She was staring after him for a bit, but remembered to execute the plan quickly when he was out of her view. Running over to the container, she lifted the boy back on her arms. "Let's hurry, Luffy."

She ran along the fence until she reached the part where it lay on the ground. Maybe she was tripping once or twice while crossing it, but else it went well and she soon found herself back on the asphalt. And then Quinn was running for her life. For their life. It wasn't much anymore and she could see a light car parking somewhere aside. Pressing the unlock-button of the key chain, the lights blinked up swiftly with a chime and confirmed her it was Law's.

Quinn opened the door of the passenger seat first and made sure Luffy was inside and his belt fastened. She then rushed over to the driver's side and took place as well, inserting the key and turned on the engine. Everything worked without problems and Quinn, breathed out slowly. "Okay, everything's gonna be fine..." she told herself. "You can do this Quinn, for the sake of everyone!"

Step by step, she mumbled to herself how to operate a car. When they were finally driving, she squealed somewhat and on her face developed the first smile of true happiness since that afternoon.

"Miss Heady," Luffy said. "There's a car behind us..."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Jesus Christ, finally an update! I'll try to avoid cliffhangers with giant gaps between the updates, I'm sorry. _  
_Anyway, I know kidnappings in romance are a kinda cliche, but I tried to work this one into another direction than the typical hero saves heroin thingy. Also I fear that you'll think bad of Quinn after reading this chapter for being somewhat moody or whiny. So hope you'll understand the way she first acted toward Law and the situation. Also, I hope you won't think the parkour-scene was too much for a normal person as the story mentioned her skills before._

 _Gosh, and sorry for my vindications e.e I just try to make her a balanced character, but I'm constantly worried about failing doing so e.e_

 _Thanks for reading and your lovely reviews! Always made my day :)_


	43. Second to someone

**43\. Second to someone**

"We told cha, you're confusing us with someone else."

"No! No! No! You're friends with those idiots next to my brother's apartment! Ya'll put him into jail! And then you dare to beat up my other brothers!"

Sabo and Ace had fought their way through the building after they had been spotted. It had been a long chase inside the factory and they even had found out where Quinn and Luffy were to rescue them; if the head of this gang hadn't appeared from ambush, surprising both with two guns to their heads. Now they were tied up, inside a room with a few of their opponents, including the leader himself.

"Well, you messed with our brother, we mess with yours," Ace said annoyed as a matter of fact.

"Don't say a word anymore, or I'll shoot you!" A small guy with some scars on his face, pretty churned up about everything that was happening. He was whining a lot and they could swear they caught his face sometimes in tears (or he was kinda stoned). Not someone who appeared really mentally stable.

"Crap you will," Ace said.

Irked by his attitude, the small guy tried to ignore him and walked up and down in front of his captives while his hands were still holding the guns. "So, I tell you what my actual plan was. I wanted to kid-"

"Kidnap your brother's neighbor, trap his friends and kill us all slow and painful blah blah!" Ace groaned annoyed, exasperated about his wishy-washy talk.

"How do you know?!" he snapped back, really surprised about it.

"First, because you already said that. Second, because your plan's super cliched."

"You're making fun of me...!"

"No, it's so dumb, I can't even laugh about it."

He growled and jumped fretfully from one foot to the other. "Gosh, ya worse than I thought! My brother was right!"

"Jesus We. Don't. Know. Your. _Fucking_ brother!"

"And why did you come?!"

"CAUSE YOU'VE KIDNAPPED OUR LITTLE BROTHER AND OUR FRIEND...!" Sabo and Ace shouted simultaneously at him as they were tired of telling that guy the same truth, over and over again.

"Liar!" he yelled and shot between them.

Both constrained guys flinched from the middle.

"Bastard," Ace muttered.

"Boss, you almost had hit me too!" one of his people complained as he and a few other stood behind their captives.

"I told ya I'll shoot!" he claimed and turned back to the two guys on the ground. "So, you two better not saying a word anymore or else..." After he had lifted his guns, pointing at them again, he got distracted as he heard some knocking on the door. Annoyed, he rolled his eyes and signalized one of his men to go check that out.

And so one of them paddled over to the door to open it. As he did, everyone was looking at it and the guy asked, "who are you?"

"The doctor."

* * *

Quinn looked up into the rear-view mirror and saw the headlights of another vehicle were following them. Her brows narrowed deep to her eyes and she swiftly glanced over to Luffy to see if he was properly fastened. Whoever that was, she just didn't like the fact the car was coming from the direction they just had escaped, thus she would pick up speed to see if it was coincidence.

"Luffy, stay down, okay?" said she and he nodded, looking at her with suspense. With pursed lips, Quinn then let out a long breath before she changed the gear and pushed a little more against the pedal.

And so did the car behind them.

"God, what the-" she muttered, both hands tightened around the wheel. To know that Luffy sat next to her without a booster seat wrenched her nerves, but she hadn't had many options that were less threatening than getting caught by the stranger.

Curious, Luffy tried to get up to checked out their behind as well. "Miss Heady, it's getting faster!"

"Luffy, sit down!"

"But-"

"SIT DOWN!"

Luffy kept his mouth shut and slipped back in his seat.

It was definitely one of the gangsters. The time was too short as that Law and the others could have found each other and escaped already. The person behind the wheel must had seen them running away, hence trying to get them back now. Unsure if she should gather way even more since she was already almost at 50 mph, the fastest she ever did, she kept checking the mirror only to see the car was getting closer.

Suddenly it caught up with her and bumped against the vehicle, startling both inside.

"Oah seriously?!" Quinn growled out and the car did it again. She tried to stay on the road and pushed up a level higher, being now a little over 50 mph. It didn't stop the other car to speed up as well until it ended next to them. "Get lost, buddy!" Quinn shouted and he bumped into them again.

Luffy screamed by the convulsion. "Hey, what is he doing?!"

"God damn it!" Quinn cursed out loud and gritted her teeth, the breath coming through the tiny gaps. "You shouldn't have said bumper car..." mumbled she then before Quinn decided to adjust to the guy. She bumped his car as well.

"Miss Heady, we have to be faster!"

"I know!"

It was almost just straight on, actually the easiest part when driving, but Quinn felt uncomfortable to go any faster. Especially when it was so dark outside that she feared her reaction would be limited to perceive in time something jumping in her way. The view the car lights were giving were so small, made her almost claustrophobic. But still, she had no other chance.

Quinn commanded all her courage and accelerated to an extend that it would be enough to get rid off the chasing car. At least for the time being.

She kept checking their stalker through the rear-view mirror, her eyes wandering on and off from the road. For then, the road was still just straight, she hadn't had to worry yet about any junction to take, thus was completely focused on getting lose of the other vehicle. Things were getting slightly buzzy when they were passing the woods on one side of the street. It relieved to see how the environment changed, showing that they were indeed moving from spot to spot. Law had told they were out of town, but she had no clue how far it was. Her panic had her forgotten to turn on the GPS.

Suddenly, Luffy shouted, "a deer!" when the car lamps lightened a wild animal standing on the road while eating whatever it was on the ground.

Quinn startled with her heart leaped into her throat. She turned the wheel around with a full braking. The car drifted over the asphalt and pinwheeled a few times. Then it stopped. The animal could escape.

Quinn breathed in panic after that sharp maneuver and lifted her head that hung from her neck. "Luffy, you okay?!"

"Yeah..." said the boy, rubbing his head as it had bumped against the door and got hold with pressure.

Not long and she could say that night was the worst night in her entire life. Things didn't go according to plan as someone jerked the door on the driver's side open and scaring up both occupants. A guy whose face she was familiar with, probably one of the dudes from that afternoon, grabbed Quinn by her arm and forced her out. She, of course, fought against it and he grabbed her hair and dragged her to the side of the road. Quinn yelled at him while hearing Luffy shouting her name in fear and worry.

"Bitch!" the guy shouted and pushed her down. "Thought you can escape? I saw you!"

Quinn kicked him when he got closer and he grunted and kicked her back on the side of her stomach. She held the spot in pain and tried to crawl away. When he wanted to follow her, Luffy appeared from behind and bit the guy in his leg, yelling at him to let go of his teacher. Quinn heard the man groaning and then watched how he took the boy and threw him over the ground. It was a nightmare as she saw him really going after him, beating a child. Luffy was whining aggressively when he got punched, triggering the young woman to the highest.

She pushed herself up again and tackled the guy so that he stumbled several meters away. That was the point when she got on his nerve and decided to bring that to an end. They fought each other, Quinn clearly on the loser's side.

"You know what? Fuck it all," said he as she fell on her back, the guy kneeling above her. And he threw punches into her face. Quinn couldn't even scream anymore but started to cry. Especially when he started tugging on her clothes, trying to rip off her pants.

She could strike a kick into his face and made him let go for a moment so that she was able to crawl away. She was hoping to get help when car-lights from afar appeared. Quinn tried to get up the road to gain attention from the up-coming vehicle, but the guy behind her pulled her back down.

She begged him not to touch her while fidgeting around in panic; punching, kicking and biting with all her might.

"Oh, now you're begging what?! The car's gone, no one will hear ya out here."

"God, get lost!" she winced in despair, shrieking louder than she ever had. He wasn't even there yet and she felt pain rushing through her body as if elephants were stepping on her. It became unbearably hot, like someone was cooking her from the inside.

"First I thought I'll bring you back, then I thought I'll kill you instead. But before, I'll-"

Quinn didn't know what was going on as a kick against his neck interrupted him merciless; it was too dark to see anything. When he fell to the side, she wasted no time to roll over on all fours and crawled away as fast as she could, hyperventilating. Behind her she heard the guy calling names at someone, the sound of his words so incomprehensible as if he was about to pass out.

She focused on searching Luffy whom she then found still lying on the ground, limbs all spread. With her dirty hand Quinn stroked the hair out of his exhausted face. His stare at her saddened and angered to the same.

"Miss Heady... could I help you...?" he said with lots of effort.

How could someone do that to a child? Throwing him to ground and punching his face that he even lost a primary tooth. She was hoping the worst for that guy, he should burn in hell; he and his whole gang.

Quinn's mouth trembled up to a smile and she nodded a lot. "You were great. Thank you little man."

Happy to hear that, he grinned and closed his eyes again. She began to panic, the sweat gathering from her forehead and hands, and she pressed her ear against his chest. _Please, Luffy! Please! Stay with me!_

Luffy snored.

She drew back her head, looking into his snoozing face. He was just sleeping. It took a load off her mind.

Then Quinn shrank to ground as well, curling on her knees. Her breathing was flat but frenetic and she knew she was about to pass out too. Quinn remembered the last time for this to happen was two years ago when she over done it with her fitness routine. The paramedics had treated her on the spot and she could recover soon without a ride to the hospital.

"Quinn?!" someone called her and she couldn't identify the person first, but got familiar with the voice the second time she heard it calling her name.

With every pound inside her chest she tried to keep herself conscious. Her weak limbs couldn't hold her though and the last thing she would remember was Koala laying her arms around her, the worried voice echoing in her head, calling her name several times until she passed out.

* * *

Law didn't know what happened after Quinn had left with Luffy, but the police arrived later and busted the place. None of the three young men were seriously wounded, even after a fight where the trio had been in the minority. They had been able to hold up with their opponents, surprising especially Law. Ace and Sabo were anything but a threat; he appreciated and respected their fighting skills, which Ace probably gathered during his travels alone and Sabo basically during his work. So the paramedics' treatment gone by fast before they were placed into the police vehicles to take the three back into town.

An hour later, they arrived at the police station. It was calm outside the streets at night, but appeared so much more vivid if you compared it to where they had come from. Inside the building, it took some time again to do the records. Law got impatient. He wanted to know where Quinn was and if she was alright.

"Miss Heady and the little boy are safe and in the hospital," a policeman informed after they were finally free to go. "We can take you there if you want."

They didn't hesitate to take his offer and so they found themselves in the local hospital half an hour later. It seemed like everyone knew about their concern as the staff reached out for them instantly, specifically approaching Law. As they walked through the corridors after the room number was given, a random door opened and Dr. Dillan stepped outside. She glared at the bunch and those glared back.

"Sabo," she said quietly, surprising him with the face-off. She then looked into the round and smiled at all of them. "God, I'm glad to see you all back safe."

"Are Quinn and Luffy okay?" Sabo wanted to know.

The woman sighed as if there was anything hard to say. "You better come with me first. The other can look for the two."

"What's wrong? Shouldn't I go see Quinn and Luffy?" asked he, confused about it and not only himself, but also his company.

Dr. Dillan didn't respond but only turned around and motioned her head in the direction she asked him to follow. Sabo exchanged brief looks with Ace and Law, unsure what the woman wanted before he walked after her.

They went around the corner while the others got to the hospital room.

"What's the matter?" asked Sabo.

"I'm sorry dear for delaying this, I know you wanna see Quinn and Luffy," she began and let out another tired breath. Sabo folded his arms, being all patient about whatever she was going to tell him and so she continued, "it's just, Koala's very ill right now, she has an extremely high fever."

His brows narrowed. "I knew she wasn't alright."

"Yeah, she told me you've been adamant her to come here," said she with a small smile and leaned against the wall. "And she _was_ with me today, but when Trafalgar beeped me on my pager, she sped up and went to look for your guys instantly."

Sabo was confused. "I don't understand."

"She told me you kinda informed her about the kidnapping after she had called you from the hospital. I first didn't get Law's message, but she understood like a shot and only told me to call the police and send out the ambulance before running out herself. You don't know yet, but Quinn and Luffy got into a fight and Koala just came in time. The whole stress put her body to its limit, she had overworked herself in all aspects and I'm just sure she'd be happy to see you later."

"Why are you telling me this?"

Dr. Dillan glared at him, not understanding why he appeared so mad about this all of a sudden. "I... I thought to tell you as soon as possible and before you get confused when seeing the others."

Looking somewhat pissed to the side, Sabo inhaled deeply. "Koala..."

* * *

Heading towards the hospital room, a nurse walked out of their destination and sighted Law with relief. "Dr. Trafalgar, great to see you!"

He stopped as she walked up to him, apparently to talk. Before she did, she turned to Ace, telling him friendly, "if you're here to see Miss Heady and Luffy too, you can get in."

He swiftly exchanged nods with Law and then led up to the room. Law turned to the nurse, hearing Luffy's happy exclamation of Ace's name in the back. And he also heard Quinn. And Judy, and Shachi and Penguin. They all had gathered together.

"Are you okay?" asked the nurse and he snapped back at her when he noticed that his attention was still drawn to the hospital room. "You're wounded Doctor."

"It's fine, tell me what's the matter."

"Uhm sure," she responded, "it's about Quinn Heady. I saw she's one of your patients and you wrote down she has some valvular heart problems."

"Right."

"The ambulance brought her here as fast as they could, in that time she already had passed out. We could prevent a complete circulatory arrest since the team was there in time. As for now, we don't have exact results for the causes, so you may check on it soon." She paused when Law didn't respond but pointed his frown to somewhere unfocused. "I'm sorry to tell you that, Dr. Dillan said you're friends. But I can say, Miss Heady's alright."

Law sighed. "I gonna check this later, thanks."

He moved then, leaving the nurse standing. Used to this, she didn't even try to understand him anymore but only mumbled, "got more friends than expected."

...

"Hey, Torao!" Luffy waved as Law could finally enter the room too. "I'm happy you're alright!"

His attention moved straight up to the girl on the hospital bed, who was sitting at the edge with her legs dangling. And the moment he saw her, it was jaw-dropping.

Her face was beaten black and blue, patched with left blood stains while her hands and knees were bandaged. Quinn's lips were shaking as she was looking at him before she hopped from the bed and ran towards him to give a long hug. She was fussing into his shirt, "meeeh, oh my god, I'm sooo happy you found the others and make it back safe, and oh my god, I was soooo worried! And-and-and I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that, but there was this guy behind us and he was so fast and rammed your car several times, and it just provoked me so I bumped back into him and-and I tried to be faster and then there was this deer, and-" She paused for a moment and looked up into his face. "I'm so sorry, I damaged your car, please don't hate me for this!"

Close-up, her condition looked even more terrible.

"I-I will pay the reparation!" she added instantly when he didn't respond but only glared down at her with eyes so stiff like he had seen a ghost. "I-I have enough money, I can do right away! Promise! Promise! Promise! Promise! It's-"

"Peanut," he cut her off with low voice and Quinn halted her bonkers, mouth corners sinking deep down. "It's just a car."

Her lips parted to a feeble gap as she hadn't expected such answer, spoken so light and soft from his mouth.

"Yeah, Quinn!" Shachi commented, making her head turn. "Told ya he won't be mad! We're just so glad you're safe!"

"Don't worry about the car, I'll try to get out a special discount for him at my work and we'll fix it that it'll be like completely new!" Penguin commented too and joked then, "Law got too much cheeze anyway."

She kept staring at the two to ensure herself they weren't buttering her up before shifted her face back at Law. "Right, I forgot you're a rich bitch."

The group laughed, she was laughing, she seemed alright? From everything that could have happened, that was the out-coming he had expected the least. What had happened? Why was she looking like that? Who had done that to her? And why did he suddenly feel so guilty?

As Judy noticed how Law stayed silence the whole time, only staring at Quinn while she kept talking to the others, she mentally rolled her eyes and straightened from the hospital bed she was leaning against. "Alright guys, let's get out. I think those two need some eye-to-eye talk."

"Huh?" Penguin wondered. "Why?"

"No 'why'," Judy said and walked past between Shachi and Penguin, grabbing the arm of each harshly to make them turn to the door as well. The two confused just followed as she was adamant to it, ambling along.

Quinn looked after them and was equally confused. She watched with a wry smile how each of them walked through the door, Judy even starting to flirt with Ace randomly, probably as a pastime. "This woman can't let it, ha."

As they were gone, the door certainly closed, Law asked, "is there a reason for you hugging me that long?"

Attention back at him, she stared into his face and waited for a brief moment before her arms would let go of him with a dull, "sorry."

He was still quiet for a while as he still needed to realize and digest what had happened. The way he was standing there, pinching the bridge of his nose, made Quinn assume he was indeed pondering for something to say. Or maybe he was just tired and actually didn't want to say anything. "Weeeell... I guess Judy was just interpreting things wrong?"

"No, I actually have things to say."

"Oh." Quinn moved backward to her bed to lean her butt against the mattress, with eyes swiped aside, biting her lips. Whenever he was kind of 'announcing' his speech (or something alike), she was prepared of it being something serious. A serious Law was a scary Law.

"You passed out."

Oh, she knew it and so she confirmed somewhat simple. "Yap."

"You almost got a circulatory arrest."

Yap."

"You almost died."

"...Yap."

Law turned his back and muttered with his head slightly tilted down to his shoulder, "I shouldn't have put that much effort into saving you when you don't seem to care anyway when you die."

"Huh? What? Nooo!" she negated and stood straight again. "I do care...! It was super scary over there! And I was really really reaaaally happy that you came to save us!" He ignored what she said and grabbed the door handle to leave the room so that Quinn hasted and got into his way. "Believe me! I'm super grateful for that!"

"So why aren't you grateful when I tell you to do something for your heart?!" his voice worded a little louder than usual.

Quinn startled by his tone and shrank, remaining quiet.

As he noticed that probably no excuse would ensue this time, he rolled his eyes. "Get to the side."

"No..."

"Get to the side, Miss Heady."

"Don't be mad at me..."

"I have no time for this," said he. "I've told you many times and it seems like you don't take my words seriously at all."

Her eyes wandered down to her feet and she leaned against the door, blocking his way completely. "I do..."

"I may be not the friendliest kinda person, but I can ensure you that I'm a well-read and experienced doctor that doesn't come up with diagnosis and theories. So if you don't care about your condition and don't want me to ever get back to that again, just say it and I won't care anymore." Quinn didn't respond but kept her gaze down, filling the seconds between them with silence. Her behavior annoyed him; now he understood exactly what Judy meant by childish. That silence made him wanna punch holes into the wall. She kept it longer, so he stepped closer to get a grasp of the door handle again. "Get away, Miss Heady."

Quinn shook her head and pressed her body against the door, covering the door handle.

"We're in the hospital, so that was an order."

"..."

"Miss Heady. _Now._ "

"I'm so sorry..." she finally replied, still looking down. "You're right, I'm sorry..." When her face lifted, he found guilt and fear all over it. "I know this is a super lame apology, but I don't know why I'm refusing so hard to do something. Maybe it's trust issues; maybe I fear something to go wrong during the surgery; maybe I'm just really scared how this affects my life afterwards."

"This is stupid," said Law, "the chance for it getting worse's so tiny, you're more likely to get hit by a car."

"No it's just..." she looked away again, hesitating to continue.

The longer he was staring at her, the more Law thought he would understand what her concern was. It may be not the only, but one of the main. "Are you scared of the _scar_?"

Quinn glanced at him, sucking on her lower lip. Her eyes moved to the side again as she was still considering answering his question or not. They went back with a smile that left out her eyes. "Back then when I was... horizontally challenged... still living in the city, I met a guy in this parkour-scene. He was really kind to me and got me into this all and those people. I ended up falling in love with him. You know, first person and guy to treat me nice and blah, and well, when I confessed, he told me," Quinn gasped out a sarcastic laugh, continuing, " _'Quinn, you're a really nice girl and I really like you, but... it's really nothing personal, you're just not my type.'_ I was too fat, not pretty enough, the low key. You don't know how much this had destroyed my world, to hear it from someone like him. Someone who had changed my life. I mean, sure people say it's the inside that matters, but that's such a lie. If you don't have the look, you won't get the chance. You know it! I mean, you're just sleeping with an eight or higher. I've got laugh at a lot in my past, I'm sick of it. It's so- WOW, that really sounds like I need a psychotherapist. I _really_ got _issues, right?_ "

"Yes and yes, that's a lame excuse."

She pouted her lips with lids minimizing her view. "Yeah... told cha... I know, I know. I'm sorry."

"To put your aesthetics above your health. You're not 16 anymore." Law placed his hand on her head and leaned down to her face, his forehead almost touching hers so that Quinn paused confused, blushing. "Right now, you're looking like a troll anyway. Perhaps it's staying like that?"

"What?! Will it?!"

"Maybe."

When she recognized his lie, she pointed out her tongue with narrowed eyes. "That was mean, you're the uglier troll." He pushed her head downwards and Quinn squealed in little annoyance. "Hey, whatcha doing boooy?"

So, little blondie got issues with her appearance? He actually could have come up with it himself when she just had told him about that first love, though he had no clue what to do against it. She was sorry then, but it didn't mean she all of a sudden would drop that thing with her low self-esteem and do as he said. That asshole had made her life much more difficult and-; he shouldn't call him bastard, he seemed to had treated her right except from that, Law had no right to call this stranger names...

He straightened again. "Alright."

As he continued with nothing, Quinn added, "you said, you have _things_ to say; is there more...?

He frowned. "Yeah."

With both hands, she stroked her hair neat to overcome the time he was thinking. Again, he became uncomfortable talking about something that was on his mind. Since Quinn knew how hard it was to gather words, she just looked at him and waited for him to be ready.

"When we were locked in this room and this guy came in,"

"Yeah?"

"I had hit this guy unconscious."

Quinn's lips widened to a line and she nodded quietly.

"Had you thought something like-"

"You being a monster?"

He twitched his brows. "...yeah."

Quinn inhaled deeply with puffed cheeks and big eyes, which breath she then let out with a light whistle. "Yes. Yes, I had."

Great, he knew it.

"But that's fine now."

What?

She clasped her hand together as if praying, the confidence about her own words spread in her smile. "You know you're a creep; you can be very scary; and you're ridiculously strong. I don't know where you got your skills in planning and fighting, and honestly I don't wanna know. It's enough for me to know that you're a great and honest friend whom we all can trust. But I find it sweet that this concerns you! You're more human than I thought!"

One could see when she wasn't the most comfortable herself when she started to act weird. She was talking somewhat plastic and pointed both her thumbs up like a weirdo. "You're great, Doctor! Keep doing! Yesss."

"You're sane?"

"Yes!" she claimed, but confessed then while holding her weird act, "I'm just trying to ease this between us, man this is really awkward now, right? You know, you're scary, but I wanna accept this. Uhm... smiiiile, Doc."

Sometimes he didn't understand this girl, or not just sometimes; he didn't understand her at all. Her way of seeing things, her way reacting to things and her way handling things. He had thought she would be happy to see him when he had gotten himself caught too, but she was very repulsive first. He had thought she would be alright with the car, all-in-all she fancied it the whole time; but she had been so scared. And now standing in front of that beaten girl, he expected her to be all down, but she was just a non-stop talking weirdo like always.

Still, all those wounds on her shouldn't have happened. He had _planned_ it not to happen.

Law made one step closer to her and his hand brushed over her cheek. She held her breath in surprise and looked up into his face, not knowing what was going on all of a sudden.

"Uhm... uhh... doctor?" asked she confused and moved her eyes from him. "Everything alright?"

"If I had stayed with you, would it have been better?"

"Huh...?"

His other hand caressed over the compress on her forehead and Quinn blushed. Yeah, he was sure all that pain could have been avoided if he just had stayed with her. It was naive from him to think she would be okay on her own in a field full of dangerous jerks.

"Doctuaaar... you make this very awkward..."

"Miss Heady." Both his hands wrapped around her cheeks and moved her face up to him.

Quinn paused.

She knew he wasn't the bad guy she had thought him to be when they first had met, but right then he was staring at her, more open than ever. Even though he was back in his familiar surroundings, safe and free to go wherever he wanted, Quinn could find something more sincere in his eyes what he seemed to hide normally. But this time, he acted different to _normally_. Those steel gray eyes pierced her and were confusing. She couldn't grasp his intention but felt something gentle was speaking to her, using no words.

Emotions? Law never showed much emotion; at least not the soft ones. Even during that awful night he had been giving a cool and clear head straight out.

But why did he look so hurt all of a sudden?

"Trafalgar...?" She blushed by his soft touch on her cheeks and found it harder by every second to keep their eyes locked. "What is...?"

Law's mouth twitched and faintly formed to a line pointing downward; holding back.

Suddenly, the door behind Quinn moved and she pushed his hands immediately away. Her heart was pounding.

Sabo peeked inside and the two turned their faces to him "Quinn..." said he, staying speechless any further moment as he saw her condition.

"Sabo!" she called out loud and glomped into his arms, relieved that he just had come. Or finally.

And that was when Law knew their moment was over. When he suddenly vanished into air.

She was so much focused on her boyfriend then, she didn't even seem to notice that he decided to make his way out of this room. Whatever was between them, he should always bear in mind that there was someone already. 'Already'. Ridiculous. It wasn't even like he would agree to a relationship if Sabo wasn't. He just couldn't decide the path of his feelings.

Dr. Dillan came by as well, seeing Law walking away from the room. "Trafalgar, you're already leaving?"

"Yeah," said he, his tone just as stoic as his face. "I'm done here, have to work in a few hours."

"Uhh, I've asked if you can take a break today!" she called after him as he walked off, not even given her a second to talk. "You should definitely take that! ...oh dear, you're not even listening, right..."

Moving towards Quinn's room next, Dr. Dillan halted as she looked inside to see Quinn snugging into Sabo, telling him about everything that had happened to her and Luffy that night while he was listening to it with full attention. Her face wandered back to where Law had disappeared (and he was already gone) and back to the couple on the hospital bed. _Oh dear..._

* * *

Three days passed since the kidnapping. During those three days, Quinn had needed the time to digest what had happened. The first night after, she woke up with an awful headache. Her face blew up from the punches she had received, hence she was spending the whole day cooling the wounds while enjoying food Judy had prepared for her in the morning before she had gone to work. Quinn called Sabo with the wish for him to come over. She didn't speak it out though and thought he would get the idea himself. But Sabo was busy, he had said he would come in three days. Basically, everyone seemed busy, working. She received a few calls from Shachi and Penguin, asking for her well, and even Dr. Dillan checked on the girl via phone. The rest of the day, she spent it on the couch in front of the TV. Judy had made her potato pancakes with apple sauce again, so she joked about how worthy that nightmare was only to be able enjoy those. Also some cream soup and a pan of fried rice. She lay on the couch; ate; watched TV and hummed some songs. Then the day passed.

At the fellow night, Quinn couldn't sleep. Her face hurt and her nose bled nonstop. She swallowed a bunch of painkillers and went back to bed after washing her face again. Only one week was left before the summer holidays would start, but the school freed her from work until she would get better.

The next day, she did feel better. She texted Sabo now and then over the day and planned already for tomorrow what to cook for him. Quinn knew his visit would make her feel better. Maybe she seemed alright; she could laugh and joke around like usually; she appreciated Judy's care, even in her absence; and she had no problem to go through the day, keeping herself busy; but Sabo's presence was always a level up.

When she was too tired to do anything, she lay around and thought about the kidnapping, from the moment she saw Luffy being carried away to when Koala had appeared and saved them. She wondered how this event would influence her life; if anything would be different to normally; if she felt any different. Was that improving or troubling her life? Had she had another view of it then, taking security for less granted? Or had she become more scared, feeling hard living through?

Quinn didn't know, but it made her thinking about the future a lot. Things could've turned worse and compared to it, the final result was nothing. She still had a future ahead, still chances to make the best out of it.

On day three, Quinn woke up fully motivated. The first thing she did was checking her phone for any message, or well, not any but Sabo's. She thought her morning was already a sweet start in the day when she read that he would get over by noon.

Paddling out of her room with a bright smile, Judy, who was getting ready for work, raised a brow in interest. "Wow, what makes you so happy?"

Quinn made a full spin on one foot before falling onto the couch. "Sabo's coming over today."

"Oh, that," Judy replied, continuing as if disinterested.

She filled her lunch into a box while Quinn was watching her doing, surveying the food. "Hmm... I wanna cook today, but I'm not sure what. Any idea?"

"No."

"Oh come on, you're super creative when it comes to impressing guys with your cooking."

"I'm not super creative, I just rarely cook, hence use a recipe, hence it seems like I always have something new in petto," she claimed, still focusing on her lunch. Her halfheartedly prepared lunch.

"Your talent's such a waste," Quinn said, but she ignored her and so the blonde switched back to her question. "Hey, what do you think about tortellini? Should I make my own dough? I could fill them with different vegetables in different colors, that would be so cute!"

"Do what you want, you won't recognize much color in the filling anyway."

"Ohhh, I can color the dough instead! That'll be so pretty!"

"Do it."

"Should I separate the sauce? But I like it more when it's already mixed together."

"I don't know."

"Ah, I can make the sauce and cook the noodles inside the sauce! I'm sure the dough will be so much tastier! I'm a genius!"

Judy put her lunchbox inside her back and head to the entrance door, putting on her heels. "I'm leaving, see you tonight. And don't forget putting some ointment on your wounds."

Staying on the couch, she sat up and waved with her arm vertically flexed. "Okaaay, bye-bye! See you!"

Quinn then fell back on the couch when her roommate was out the door, and stretched her body with a loud yawn. She already thought about what to do today when Sabo was there, how to start with the dough and anything else that could improve her day. It were probably hours she was spending on her cellphone, looking up for a good recipe and tutorials of how to make tortellini. And other ridiculous stuff such as 'what to do on a date at home' or 'what to do with boyfriend'.

And as those hours passed, she received another message from Sabo. _'Koala's sick, I gonna be late for two hours.'_

Checking the time then, she noticed just now how much actually had passed. Of course she would love to see him as soon as possible, but their friend's health was first and additionally to that, it gave her more time to cook. Or better say, to even start.

So slowly, she pushed herself back on the floor to prepare the noodles. Since Quinn was familiar to baking, she knew how much time it could take to get the perfect dough. But before she could even think about starting, Quinn had to get dress first and do some grocery shopping, stealing more time. It was a quick tour though and she came back with everything she needed for the day. With all calmness, she hummed some songs while taking it slow. That dish had to be perfect, she wanted to surprise him with it since she presumed he wouldn't have had eaten much when arriving.

Time passed by then as she kneaded the dough and her phone chimed again. With her dirty hands, which she of course had tried to get clean as much as she can, she answered the phone. "Yeah?"

 _"Ah Quinn, I'm sorry, I think I won't make it in two hours, can you give me one more?"_

Quinn looked at the watch on her screen and moved it back to her ear. "uhm sure, if you want, you can also come in two. Don't stress yourself."

 _"Really? That would be really nice of you!"_

"Sure, I know Koala needs your support! I, too, hope she'll be fit soon! I probably will drop by tomorrow."

 _"I'm sure she'd be happy to see you. Thanks, Marshmallow."_

She giggled. "You're always welcome, Sabobobo."

As they hung up, she put the phone away and glared into space. Quinn sighed. _Okay, then two hours more..._ she thought. But definitely only for Koala, else she would pout and annoy him on the phone.

* * *

"Ah, Quinn will visit you tomorrow," said Sabo, putting his phone away. He sat on a chair next to Koala's bed, looking down at the ill girl.

"Is she alright?" asked she with effort while wheezing quietly.

"Yeah, don't worry about her," said he and smiled. "You had to hear her on the phone, she was more cheerful than ever."

Koala opened her eyes and looked at him. "You sure...? She's been through a rough night..."

"And so did you, idiot." Sabo took the cloth off her forehead to soak it with new water. He wrung it out and placed it back after stroking her hair away from her face. "I've talked to her right after when she was back in the hospital, I was with her the whole time. She's alright, really. If I would go there, she'd kick my ass back to you."

She laughed a bit, but strong coughing interrupted it and she curled in her bed due to the pain in her chest. "Gosh, this feels like I'm dying..."

Sabo furrowed his brows. Watching her and hearing her in this way felt like he was ill himself, feeling every single pain that lurked through her body. Koala was strong and tough, he rarely saw her seriously infected like that, a way that made her even losing the power to walk on her own.

"You really don't have to stay," said she, covering her face in her palms. "I'm just gonna sleep and be fit in no time."

"You were trying to sleep for hours now."

"But Sabo..."

He sighed and took her hand. "Say one more time you want me to go and I do."

If it wasn't her fever that reddened her face, he would see her blushing now. She remained quiet and glanced down to their hands, unsure about what she was seeing.

Koala liked Quinn very much, the way she had found her that night was sickening like she had found her own sister that way; and yet she didn't want him to go. She had always considered Sabo as her bestfriend, but he had never used that term himself. Maybe that was the reason why she had confessed to him back then. Because she thought he was seeing something more in this as well. She felt guilty for holding him there, holding his hand for so long. But he was the only person she could think of then. The only person she wanted by her side now. And it felt so damn wrong.

* * *

The tortellini were already done and ready to be cooked in the sauce, which preparation Quinn almost had finished as well. To be in time, she checked the clock every few minutes and seemed to be good with it. When was the last time she had cooked something for Sabo? Had she ever cooked something for him? Quinn wasn't sure anymore, but this one should be great and she was convinced about it when she smelled the sauce and put the raw tortellini inside. _Sabo Sabo Sabo Sabo Sabo Sabo._

Her phone sounded minutes later and she cleaned her hand with a tissue before picking up, seeing it to be a text message. _'I'm so sorry Quinn, can we make this at evening? I would love to come over right away, but I feel really bad for leaving Koala now. Not until she would fall asleep. She can't even get herself something to drink.'_

Leaning back against the kitchen counter with the hot pot cooking next to her, Quinn sighed and replied _'Don't worry, you can come whenever it fits. Poor Koala, I wanna hug her :( See you, much love for both of you!'_

Knowing that there were lots of time left then, Quinn turned the heat lower and walked back into her room to rest a little. She tugged her pants off and threw them to ground; and since it was pretty warm in that room during summer, she stayed undressed and fell asleep for a while.

...

Quinn's eyes opened slowly and she stayed quiet in bed for a bit, staring into nothing while recalling the dream she just had. It was about the kidnapping, a big crazy mess and nothing like the actual event. Penguin and Shachi were there too, Judy came to save them and in the end all of them got locked into the room.

It was distinctly less awful than reality, but not nice though to remember. Sure that this might follow her for a while from now, she pushed herself from her bed to distract her mind and looked on the screen of her phone. It was already evening; the time had passed so fast in her dream, it felt like minutes only. Quinn panicked that she might had missed Sabo and imagined him to still wait in front of the door.

Getting down from her bed then, she put on her clothes. Then she pulled the door open and rushed into the hallway, looking through the peephole. No one. She ran into Judy's room and opened the window to have a glimpse outside the building. But no one.

Wondering where he was since it was already nine, she got back to her room. Her phone lay on the bed and she picked it up, going through her messages. Judy had texted she would be late; Shachi had sent her a picture of something cute he had seen; and also Sabo had texted her. Two hours ago.

 _'I won't make it tonight, Marshmallow, I'm so sorry!'_

Quinn breathed in deeply. Then she sighed and answered. _'Oh, okay :( Then tomorrow? Hope everything's alright over there.'_

Since the message had been sent earlier, she was worried that he would think wrong of her as she hadn't answered it immediately. She stared at the screen, waiting impatiently for a reply. Not that he was going to think she was mad and ignored him.

But he texted back faster than expected. _'Glad you replied, I was worried! Sorry, I have to work tomorrow, got a presentation out of town. Hope you're alright.'_

She wrinkled her forehead and fell on her side. _'Just call me when you know when you got time. I'm alright, nothing hurts :)!'_

Not giving him the time to even read his answer, she got up and put her phone down, leaving it in her bedroom. So, he was not coming today.

Quinn walked up to the stove and turned the heat higher. She then opened the refrigerator and grabbed chocolate pudding she had bought today for dessert and got comfy on the couch. In her arm she enclosed the dragon stuffed toy Sabo had won on the funfair and she faced it with drawn mouth. "Now it's just us together, huh? Stupid Sabo, right? He could at least just say it earlier."

...

Around midnight, the door rang and pulled Quinn out of another sleep session. Being all sleepy, she moved into Judy's room, wondering who this was around that time since her roommate got her keys with her. As she looked out the window, she saw someone standing in front of the entrance door, pushing the door bell again. And even it was dark, she recognized that someone.

Panicky she ran into the living room and turned the TV off. The place looked awful and she struggled with the decision to clean it up quickly or leave it like that. Since it was rude to let people wait outside, Quinn gave a shit then and hopped over to the door in the dark hall, tripping over the shoes in the way. _Damn it!_

She answered the door and used the time the person needed for getting upstairs to bring the shoes back in order before-

"Oh, Doctor!" Quinn stood up immediately with a grin at Law as he was in front of her apartment. "Judy's not home yet."

"I didn't come to see Judy," said he.

"But?" What was he doing here then? Quinn loved surprises, but that was too much surprise.

"How are you?"

"Me?" she asked as if there was another person around. An awkward smile grew on her face and she continued quite stiffly, waving her hands around pretty random, "I'm good! ...I guess. Do I look like I'm good? I do, right? Okay, this is stupid. I'm just trying to convince myself, I know. Okay, I uhm, will stop. Yeah. I'm okay. It's alright, alright. Not much's going on." As Law only response to that with silence, not sure how to take that, she took a deep breath and leaned with her hand against the door frame, trying to act normal. "Sooou... Whaddup? I mean, come in if you want. You want something? Thirsty? Hungry?"

"No thanks," Law answered and walked inside as she showed him the way in.

Quinn moved up front to the living room. "I, uhm, the apartment's a little messy right now. Got no time to clean. You know, busy and stuff."

Law followed her, watching her feet as she toddled over a bunch of shoes spread at the entrance. Getting to the living room, he first noticed the messy couch. The blanket and pillow looked like she just had gotten off it. There were used dishes on the TV table, from plates to bowls to empty teacups, probably not just from today. A half drunken water bottle stood on the floor next to the couch.

Quinn rushed over to the mess and picked up the stuffed dragon toy that she had dropped. She walked past him quickly to put it back into her room before returning and piling up the dirty dishes to get them to the sink. Quietly, he watched her. Her face told she was uncomfortable for him seeing her like that, thus she tried to act as if it was normal. The embarrassment was there though.

However, he knew she was kind of a messy person, but _that_ way still surprised him. "You alright?"

"Of course I am! Do I not look like that?" Quinn replied, walking up to him with folded arms. They stared at each other for a second; Quinn smiling, Law's expression flat. Then she let out a swift breath and rolled her eyes away, laughing a little at her own response. "Oh yeah, okay. I probably really don't, but hey, that's fine! It really doesn't hurt that much anymore, only if I press my finger against it and seriously, why should I?"

Quinn then sucked on her lower lip, thinking about a way to start a casual conversation. "Aaaand, how are you? I mean, you know, I haven't asked you yet," said she as she looked back at him.

"I'm fine," he said, studying her unusual behavior. She only stood there and leaned against the kitchen table while feeling hard holding proper eye contact with him. Her lips tensed to a fake smile, making it obviously awkward. Whenever his eyes focused her face, she looked away immediately. "Should I leave again?"

"No, no, stay."

Law kept staring at her with skepticism, but got distracted when he saw lots of smoke coming from a pot behind her. And it smelled. "I think your food's burning."

She looked at him as if not understanding. "Hm?"

"Smell."

Quinn then realized it too as the scent of burnt reached her brain. "Ouh shit!" she shouted and hurried to the sizzling pot she totally had forgotten. The spot above the stove filled with the stinky smoke right away and she put the pot aside, waving with her hands the gray haze away while turning the stove off.

Having a clear view again, she looked into the pot and stirred up the content. What supposed to be tortellini looked then more like coal. Quinn grinned a tad sarcastically. "Well... that's fine, still eatable spots on it."

Law looked over her shoulder. "Looks like more than the half got burned."

"I know, I know! But that's totally alright!" said she and got out a plate to fill it. "See, I can pick the eatable parts out, ta-dah!" She took the plate and a fork and moved over to the dining table, sitting down while laughing a bit. "I mean, I don't eat that much anyway, I don't even know why I cooked that much, Judy never eats my food LOL!"

Law followed her with his eyes before taking place across, nonchalant in his posture. He raised a brow. "Did you just said 'lol'?"

"I did!" Quinn answered. "That means 'laughing your ass off'!"

She then began to eat the rest what could be saved. Quietly.

Law kept watching her, studying every move and mimic she was offering while obviously trying to overshadow whatever her concern was. Was it because of last time?

Sitting in that silence for a while, Quinn looked back at him and got up. "You know what? I forgot something to drink! You want something too?"

"No thanks."

"Not even that..." said she, pulling the last word until she reached the cupboard and took out a bottle Vodka, holding it up with both hands close to her face. "Full bottle here?"

He frowned a little. "Peanut, this is... you shouldn't drink that."

"Uff, only because I'm not a drinker? I bet this is super good stuff, suiting my dish perfectly," said she and grabbed a glass, filling it over and carried both back to the table.

She lifted it to her mouth and Law already felt distress. "Only-"

Quinn spat the first gulp out straight off, her face distorted to disgust and pain.

"-Idiots drink that like water," Law finished his sentence, casually.

"Ewww..." Quinn wiped her mouth and pointed out her tongue, dabbing it with a napkin. "Yuck. Judy did that once..."

Embarrassed, she moved her face back to Law who was staring at her calmly with the typical languid eyes he always had. "People usually drink Vodka in _shots_."

" _Usually_. This is not usually for me."

"You know that this had made no sense."

Quinn's lips turned to a crooked smile, leaving her eyes untouched as she stared at him like she was putting something clear. "And whenever I hear you smart-assing, Tetris's playing in my head."

Was she mad?

Quinn took the bottle again. "Then I will take some _shots_ now."

Law grabbed it first, before her hand could even tighten, and put it aside. He didn't stop looking into her eyes when doing so and Quinn tried to keep the interlock. No, this was more than the thing between them in the hospital, she was seriously bothered by something. "What's wrong, Peanut?"

"Nothing..." she claimed and shifted her eyes away one more. "Sorry, guess it's just some side effects from the kidnapping..."

She looked back at him and captured his face only repeating soundless 'side effects from the kidnapping?' in disbelief. For a moment, she tried to convince him with a long perky glare back, but it was harder than she had assumed. Somehow, he got something that always managed to make her talk.

So giving in, she sighed and rolled her eyes a little up; saying somewhat flippantly, "Sabo hasn't visited me once since then, and today he delayed it so much until he decided not to come..." A sarcastic smirk, depressed, developed on her face as she added, "I actually planned to cook for me and him, but yo... now it's enough for one person I guess, only me. Ha."

Hearing no comment, her eyes returned to him. Law stayed quiet and was just glaring so that she felt the need to excuse her boyfriend. "N-no-no-no! It's not like he didn't wanna see me! Really! You know, Koala, his colleague, uh bestfriend, the girl that come helped me! She's very ill, especially after that night! It's better when he's with her and helps to get fit again! I don't have a problem with that at all! I mean, I would do the same if I was him! Who need more support, an ill person or someone with just little bruises?!"

Still saying nothing but letting her continue with the babble, Law grabbed the fork and pricked it into the food in front of him.

"What are you doing...?" asked Quinn, confused as he ate it.

"I haven't had eaten today," he told after finishing chewing, and darted his bored gaze at her, "have you? Do I eat your-?"

"No-no! Eat!" Quinn said with pink cheeks, waving a hand frantically. "I had enough!"

She let him eat without interfering with one word. Her hands folded together between her legs, watching him nervously. Usually she had more poise in her cooking, thus she had no clue why she was so unsure this time. Okay, maybe because it got burnt...

"How is it?" asked she then when Law still made no comment about it.

"It's okay," said he, hitting right her lungs.

" _Okay?_ Rating."

"6 outta 10."

"Whaaat? Only?" Quinn said shocked. "You know what? Then let me do something else for you."

"No, I'm good, you already made this."

"But I don't want you to eat 6 outta 10 food from me. I can do way better! I can do you 10/10 food!"

"Then you must be better than Judy I guess."

"Ah no... not that good... okay, maybe it's just 8 outta 10..."

"Eight's a 'mother's' type of good." And everyone knew the legend of a mother's cooking magic.

Quinn looked down and poked her cheek. "Okay, then seven..."

"Seven... I see."

"Okay, maybe it's just six..."

His gaze returned to her with a sly smile and Quinn blushed and darted her eyes elsewhere. "Anyway! It's pretty late, I wonder when Judy will get back! Talking about late, did you came by bus?"

"Yeah."

"Uhm, that with your car..." said she, rubbing her neck sheepishly.

"I told you it's fine," Law responded. He finished the plate and put the fork down to fold his hand together, his elbows resting on the table. "I entrust it to Penguin, he'll fix it."

"Okay... Uhm..." Quinn tried to smile again. "As said, it's pretty late, I dunno when the last bus's coming. Maybe you already missed it."

"Was that an invitation?"

"Huh?" She blinked at him.

"To stay," said he, smirking with lazy eyes.

"It was a kind gesture from my side; why are you laughing?"

Law leaned relaxed back. "I decline. But I'll keep that in my head. Again."

"Huh? Again?"

"Wasn't your first invitation when I remember correctly."

She half-lidded her eyes. "I said, this isn't an _invitation_. It's an invi _gilation_."

"An invigilation," he repeated with a brow rose.

She nodded.

"Of what?"

"Of your security," said she and added matter-of-factly, "you know the dark's kinda scary and dangerous."

"Peanut."

"And of course it would be the first though!"

"What date's today?" asked he.

Not sure where his question was leading, she answered it carefully with one eye slightly squinted. "8th July...?"

"16th April."

Right, the 16th April was the night Judy had been too drunk to walk home. She remembered how Law took both home late in the night. It was unbelievable that this lay only three months back, and half a year that they had met first. She felt like they would know each other for so much longer.

"That was just a kind gesture too," Quinn claimed and Law looked to the side, one mouth corner tugged up. "Don't smirk! Why do you remember the _exact_ date anyway?!"

"Why did you know exactly what I meant?"

"Because-! You-! I-! ...touché."

"Oh Peanut," said he amused and leaned back.

"You know what? Okay, fine, then it's an in _vita_ tion," said Quinn.

"How _friendly_ of you," he responded. "How about putting it different?"

"Different?"

"Let's say, it's neither an invitation nor an 'invigilation'."

"But?"

"A Quinnvitation."

Silence.

And even more silence.

"Excuse me?" Quinn said with narrowed eyes, "did you just make a _pun_ out of my name?"

"I guess," he replied, being cool with the idea.

Quinn thought about it for a moment as she needed to realize first that he really had done that. HE. A little smile grew on her face then. "Okay, fine, I take that."

"But I guess I'm leaving now before I really miss my bus," said he and got up, heading to the entrance door. Law was smart enough to check the departure times beforehand. "I just wanted to check if you're curing."

"Uhm, you sure you don't wanna stay?" Quinn asked and got after him. "Don't blame me when something happens to you on your way home."

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself."

"I see, Dr. Overconfident! What if a sniper shoots you from afar?"

"I wouldn't know why someone would make that effort."

"You got some haters."

"And you a bright fantasy."

"Hey, you know that can happen; everything can happen. I-I mean, if you get out now and feel uncomfortable, you still can come back. You know, you're annoying and I really don't wanna hear you and Judy making love with each other, BUT! Safety first."

Law didn't reply but only turned to her as he walked out the door, one arm then leaned against the door frame, the hand of the other side shoved into the pocket of his jeans. It's been over a month again that he visited that place. Though his body was turned to her, Law rather eyed the apartment. It was a bit nostalgic whenever she walked him to the door.

"What is?" asked she and he looked down at her.

"I just haven't been here for a while, does it bother you that I look around?"

"No, but uhm, ...really? I thought you and Judy... Oi, don't tell me... Huh! She's always at _YOUR_ place! God, I've told her not to go to other guy's places... I mean, it's just you, but still. No exceptions, who knows what a creep you're really are."

"Don't talk nonsense."

"But-"

"Good night, Miss Heady," he said with a slight smile and moved.

Quinn watched after him, how he got down the stairs all relaxed. "Okay..., good night. Dr. Trafalgar..."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** N_ _ow that Koala's feelings are getting clearer (ok, they were clear to begin with lol), I have to say that I normally don't ship canon characters, but SaboXKoala is just too cute for me not to. I'm sorry for anyone feeling uncomfortable about this (I say that because when I used to read OC fics, I dropped it instantly when there was a non-canon couple between canon characters), but it's just a teensy part, important for the story developing._

 _ **Chumania** \- Hope you'll get well soon. You're right, maybe I do worry too much, but creating satisfying OCs in the fanfiction-scene's always quite a fight over the internet haha. Glad you liked it, thanks for the review :)!_

 _ **Guest** \- Thank you, I'm glad to hear they were understandable :)!_


	44. Perfect

**44\. Perfect**

The end of July, the 28th to be exactly, was one of those summer days that was warm, but not too hot. Though the date was in the middle of the season, then when it supposed to be warm all the way through the hours, the morning started rather mild. Birds' tweeting sounded already around four while the sun went up around five.

Sabo's alarm pulled him out of his sleep. He opened his heavy eyes and turned the beeping off that chimed from his cellphone. Though he loved to sleep, he was kind of a morning person regardless the zombie gait he would have then. Maybe that was the reason why he held so many naps during the day.

He slipped out of his bed and scratched his chest under his pajama, which buttons were only closed half the way up. Sabo yawned.

It was one of his casual morning routine. Getting up; washing; getting dress; having breakfast. When he was in town at home, the whole bunch were normally here. Luffy, Dadan and the not blood related uncles. Well, who in this house were blood related anyway?

But today no one was there except for Ace. Sitting in front of the TV only in shorts and tank top, he turned his face to the blonde guy as he came downstairs. "Morning."

"Oh you awake already?" asked Sabo and passed him into the kitchen.

Ace turned off the TV and went in there as well. "Yo, I totally destroyed my sleep pattern. Watched two seasons straight of 'Wanted!' last night."

"Told you, you will like it," Sabo said, getting his breakfast out. "I saw western, I knew it's your thing."

Ace sat down on one of the chair, nestled laid-back. "You don't know how rarely I watch TV when I travel. You have luck you got internet when you're around."

Sabo sat down at the table and prepared a simple peanut butter jelly sandwich. "Nah, I rarely watch any shows. Just saw that when Luffy was watching."

"I see." Ace looked over to the Calendar hanging on the wall next to the door. "Talking about Luffy, you know when they are back?"

"Uhh..." Sabo pondered. "I think they said they'll be on holidays for two weeks?"

"So, one more week left, I see," Ace concluded himself.

"Whatcha doing today? Stay here in your underwear?"

Ace looked up to the ceiling, thinking about it. "I think so. I mean, I was awake all night long, so I probably will sleep. And you?"

Sabo chewed his sandwich calmly, letting the other guy wait for an answer. He was watching him eating it, first patiently, but get annoyed fast when he noticed that Sabo was eating slow on purpose. "...really?"

Sabo swallowed and took another bite.

"What the hell?!"

Finished that bite, he laughed at Ace. "Just kidding. Uhm, I gonna meat Quinn today."

"Oh I see, a rendezvous," said Ace with a teasing undertone.

"Since the kidnapping, I've seen her so rarely. I guess it were only five days this month."

"Wow, that's over three weeks ago," Ace noted with a brow rose.

"I know..." Sabo said. "You don't know how often Koala had scolded me for that already. I mean, I can understand she's worried about Quinn, but the first two weeks I had no time because of _her_ flue."

"Yeah, your schedule was basically, work and Koala."

"Yop, I-" He stopped as he watched at Ace who was staring at him with eyes so uninspired like a student being disinterested about anything his teacher was telling him. "What?"

"You really need to reset your priorities."

Sabo sighed out loud after finishing his sandwich. "I know. That's why I've planned to set the perfect date today."

"Oh, tell me about it," Ace said with a grin, leaning forward.

"It's gonna be cheesy. Quinn loves cheesy."

"Like roses and all the kitsch?"

"Yo. I even had them ordered for today since they are artificially made. Blue's her favorite color."

Ace glared at him quietly, but broke the silence with a snort. "Romantic, dude; very romantic."

"You can't make fun of me," Sabo told him nonchalant.

With a smile, his brother rolled his eyes and leaned back into the chair again, knowing that he had to bring the big guns. "Well, my usual date was pizza, coke and the sunset."

"Yeah, every date of yours. Maybe that's why you're single now."

"Don't act like you know about dates," Ace said. "Believe me, it's always satisfying. And it's also the perfect moment."

Silence.

Sabo half-lidded his eyes and shifted his view into his mischievous face.

"What's that stupid face?" Ace asked, grinning. "I mean, if you want I can sleep in the tree house. The place is free for today."

Sabo stayed silent with the same expression, unimpressed about his idea.

"Come one," said Ace to justify his idea, "great and pretty girl, and how long have you been dating now? Three months? Four?"

Sabo still stayed quiet and unenthused while nothing had changed on his face. Except, this time a pink haze developed on his cheeks.

The other guy burst out in laughter. "There I got cha!"

Sabo got up and put the empty dishes into the dishwasher before heading back into their room.

"Hey, I'm serious!" Ace shouted after him, still with a cheeky grin.

* * *

"Quinn?! You finish?!" Judy shouted and knocked against the bathroom door. It's been over an hour now since she had checked it last and Quinn was inside that morning even before Judy was awake. She heard the water rinsing non-stop, but this time not an answer, thus Judy looked annoyed up and knocked again. "Quinn, I have to get ready too! QUINN!"

Opening her eyes inside the shower, Quinn noticed the water was running from the showerhead all over her legs. She got up immediately and turned the water off that already had run cold. "I-I'm sorry! I fell asleep!"

Judy narrowed her eyes. "You fell asleep in the shower?"

"Y-Y-yeah!" Quinn responded and shifted the curtain aside to get out. Her neck hurt from that unhealthy bearing when she had sat in the corner the whole time.

"Next time, make sure you have your full eight hours before showering! I thought you were dead!"

She rubbed her body dry and wrapped it into her towel. "Yes, Ma'am!"

Quinn opened the door, facing her friend's annoyance first. "Geez girl, didn't you sleep last night?"

"I did," said Quinn. "But I guess, I didn't sleep well."

Judy left it with no comment and only shook her head, passing her to get inside the bathroom. And when Quinn went to the refrigerator, getting out her smoothie and drank it, a scream shrilled out of the bathroom and she looked in appall to the door.

"GOD QUINN! YOU USED ALL THE HOT WATER!"

"Oopsie. Sorry."

It was an unusual start in the morning. She didn't know what had made her so tired compared to the other mornings. Even when she sat there at the dining table with her smoothie and bread that kept her morning sweet every day, she didn't feel like consuming any of those at the moment. Or at least not with the same pleasure as she knew breakfast was the most important meal of the day.

After finishing everything, she went back into her room to get dress. In the mirror she could eye her face more properly with the daylight that shone inside. Her face was on its best way to look normal again; most of the bruises were gone and also the deeper scratches were easily to cover with makeup now.

She put on her underwear and walked back to the living room to get her cellphone, which she had forgotten on the couch table as she had gone for a shower. When she picked it up, Judy opened the bathroom door again and got outside with a bathrobe, dabbing her wet hair with a towel.

"Ah Quinn, today- oh, sweet lingerie." Judy eyed her half-naked friend up and down. "Is that for your date with Sabo today?"

"What? No," Quinn said with half-lidded eyes. "This is my normal underwear."

Judy grinned slyly and walked past her to get a glass of water. "You're planning anything special today?"

She blushed annoyed and looked down to her triangle bra. "No? I like the lace and the polka dots, they are cute!"

"Yeah, bet Sabo would like that too," said Judy and drank from her glass.

"We've been dating only three months something."

"Uh-huh." Judy leaned against her kitchen counter, surveying Quinn's body with half-lidded eyes. "How long did you wait again for your first time with your ex?"

Smiling sarcastically at her, Quinn responded, "only enough to consider it a mistake. I dunno what kind of person you are, but I learn from mine. Maybe I shouldn't have sex, not until I get married?"

"Sure," she commented, her sarcasm clearly pronounced. "Letting poor Sabo wait."

Quinn's look dropped aside. "I never said, I'd marry him..."

Surprised, Judy raised a brow. "Haven't you said, you go into a relationship with the intention to marry?"

"Yeah, but not in that short time..."

"Whaaat?" Judy dragged, her intonation flat. "Not even _Sabobobo?_ "

Lifting her eyes back at her, Quinn didn't feel like laughing at all. "Are you making fun of me?"

"Fun?" she repeated and let out a little snort. "I'd never make fun of you."

"Judy, I don't feel your sarcasm now."

She stopped and eyed Quinn's face a little more only to see how serious she was right then. Even when Judy stated Quinn's quirky side was annoying sometimes, she preferred it to this one. "Hey, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, sorry. I just- you know, I'm tired. Or I'm just nervous for the date, I dunno, could be anything."

Oh Judy hated it when she was in such suspense. With her index finger, the only one that didn't hold the glass, she motioned up and down Quinn's body. "If I had this body, I would've no worries and laid Sabo long time ago, every night."

"Judy...!" Quinn's face turned red and she covered her butt cheeks. "My body isn't that great, I have stretch marks on my butt and my hips and my thighs... This is so embarrassing. Your body's much nicer."

"What stretch marks?"

"Don't act blind."

"Oh Quinn." Judy sighed, quirking her brows. "I gonna head to Shachi's shop after work, helping a little out with the cleaning; you and Sabo get to the bar tonight?"

"Uhm, I dunno, maybe."

"Alright." She rinsed the empty glass and put it aside to get dry before passing her friend and vanished into her room.

As Judy was behind walls, Quinn's face grumpily pointed at her door, she turned her head to check out her butt herself. "Just because you don't have them..." she mumbled and kept quiet for a second before furrowing her brows at herself. "Oh man Quinn, you really got problems."

* * *

Sabo was sure that today's day was going to be a good day as he stood in front of the mirror in Dadan's room to check if he looked okay. Though most of the guys dressed up for a date, he knew today he had to dress down for it. Not that Quinn disliked his button up shirts and knitwear, but he remembered she had mentioned something about casual style. And to made no mistake he wore the outfit she had bought for him. His basic gray jeans with a low cut white tee and a denim shirt, worn open.

It didn't look bad at all but was actually something he would wear in his free time. As he put on his watch, Koala entered the room.

"Knock knock," said she with a smile.

"Who's there?"

"It's me, Koala." She walked behind him, looking from the mirror at him.

"Koala who?"

"What 'who'?"

Sabo turned to her. "Oh, that wasn't a joke?"

Blankly, her eyes stared at him until she understood and laughed. "Oh, you mean a knock knock joke. Geez, why should I do those?"

"Ah, I'm sorry," said he and scratched his cheek sheepishly. "I'm just used to Quinn making jokes. Though... she doesn't like knock knock jokes that much."

Koala slaps both her hands against his upper arms, startling him. "But great to see you're all-in today!"

As she let go and walked to the window, Sabo rubbed his arms, mumbling, "ouch, that hurt..."

Letting out a big breath, Koala leaned a little outside. "Today's a perfect day for a date! Quinn would be so happy to see you." She turned back to him and smiled, supporting herself with her arms on the sill. "I saw the roses in the hallway, those are for Quinn too, right?"

"Who even let you in?" Sabo asked with a brow rose, wondering if she just hadn't _burgled_ in. She was quite good at that (though she shouldn't be).

"Ace," said she.

"What, he's still here?" asked he surprised, but it was more of a rhetoric question.

Koala watched how he walked out of the room and she paddled after him. "Uhm, I find it great that you're taking so much effort today."

"I just hope it doesn't come up as too much," said he, walking downstairs.

"Ah, I think she'll love it. I would too."

Sabo halted one step before he was on the main floor. He turned to her and she suddenly looked at him with big shocked eyes, trying to smile as if everything was normal.

"...Because what girl does not like romantic stuff?"

He furrowed her brows with a genuine smile and continued his path to the living-room. "Yeah. I think you're even the same age; if you like those, she most probably will too."

"Eh?" Koala placed her hands around her waist, shaking her head slightly. "That's not how women work, idiot."

He apologized with a chuckle. "I mean, you two are very much alike."

"Oh, you mean this," she responded. "Then you might be right. Though I have to say, if a guy does too much and-"

"And acts alpha, that's your total turn off - I know, I know."

Sabo walked behind the couch and leaned over the backrest to look at Ace who was lying on it. "Yo, I'm leaving. See you tonight."

Ace tilted his head up to the clock on the wall. "I thought your bus is coming in half an hour?"

"I'll take one earlier, Quinn's also always over punctual."

"Alright, I gonna be in the tree house tonight."

Sabo pushed Ace's head a little with a snicker and head to the door. "Just shut up."

Ace laughed. "Don't you mean, 'be quiet'?"

"Frack you."

"Amen!"

When Sabo passed Koala and got out, she glanced swiftly at Ace and back after the blonde, shaking her head then. "How civil."

Since Koala had to head into the same direction too, she took the same bus. Actually, the headquarters of the Revolutionary was of the other side of the center, but she didn't bother to pay him a visit when she got time. Among the two, she was the one to commute anyway, so the time she spent on the bus was not new. 40 minutes were okay, she had had worse routes up to two hours.

"You looking forward to today?" asked Koala when the bus got close to Sabo's destination. He was looking out of the window and it seemed like he hadn't heard her. "Sabo? Are you there?" Snapping back when her voice reached him, he looked at her with questioning eyes. It were always sighs she made at least once a day when she was with him. "Oh man, you should really work on your attention span."

"Koala, do you think Quinn's mad at me?" Taken aback by his question, she didn't answer right away, thus he just continued to tell what was on his mind. "She hadn't texted me once today except for this morning to confirm the date. That's unusual for her."

"Hm... What _if_ she's mad at you?"

He turned his head down, looking to his feet while the skin between his brows wrinkled. "I don't know, but I feel bad about it..."

"If she's mad, you of course apologize," said Koala. The bus halted at his station and she made a swift scan to the surrounding to ensure it was his. "Oh, you gotta get out here."

Making space for him, he got outside the seats to get off.

"Good luck," wished she him and watched how he hit the road with the blue bouquet. In front of her, she laid her folded arms over the backrest and rested her head on it, still staring out of the window to see him getting smaller as the bus departed. "Ah, Sabo..."

...

Sabo had told her they would meet up at the corner of a pizzeria Quinn always meant to try, but never did. She always asked him to go since she considered him her favorite partner to go out for eating, especially new places, but Sabo never had much time to do. Most of the time they met up in the evening when he was done with work and when they were hungry they grabbed the discounted food that were left or never picked up at a small imbiss down the street. It was her idea, which she always enjoyed; though, he thought he would try that pizzeria this time when they decided to spend the whole day with each other.

Normally, Sabo was the type to arrive late or just in time, but for now he was even 15 minutes earlier at the meet point. Standing lonely in front of a building close to the restaurant, he made a quick glance on his watch. It was the time she would normally be there too, but as he looked around she wasn't. No, Quinn was even late as he had waited additional 15 minutes from the actual time they had agreed on.

"Sabo!" then her voice called from across the street, five minutes later, and she went over to him as no car was driving through. "I'm so sorry I'm late; I forgot the time."

"Ah, it's totally fine," said he. "I was worried something had happened."

Quinn looked down to his hand, spotting the bouquet. As he saw her remaining silence to it, probably too shy to ask, he lifted his hand and held it in front of the girl. "This is for you."

"Huh?" Her eyes stared at him perplexed. "Me?"

He nodded with a soft smile. "Yeah, whom else?"

Quinn grabbed it with both hands and her eyes fixed it in disbelief. "Uhm, uhh, what? How come?"

"I thought you would like them," said he. "Don't you?"

"I do!" she told, looking back at him. "I just didn't expect it. They are so pretty! Thank you."

"Hey, didn't you forget something?" He leaned down to her and kissed her forehead, making her blush a little.

She nodded with a smile, surprised about that move. "I didn't forget that, I was just taken off-guard by the roses... hey, those are artificial right?"

"Tell me where you can get natural blue roses," he joked.

Quinn laughed. "I had been working with artificially colored plants in art school once, very cool topic."

"Sounds... artistic."

"What do we do first?"

"Ah, you always wanted to try that one pizzeria here, right?" Sabo said then, turning his face to the building. "Let's have lunch first!"

Quinn looked at it and hesitated to make a comment . "Uhm, I've already eaten..."

"What? No way!"

"I'm sorry... I was hungry and I thought you had too already. And, uhm... I've already tried the pizza here last time with Penguin. It was okay, but for the price not worth it."

"What?" Now this had really surprised him and he didn't know what to say next.

She took his hand and her brows curled to guilt. "I'm sorry, I know I've asked you first, but that was the only pizzeria on a Sunday that had open around the time I was with him, and he was craving for pizza. If you're hungry, we still can eat somewhere else...!"

"No-no," said he, shaking his head. "That's fine, it's not like you're not allowed to eat with others at unfamiliar restaurants. I passed; let me just grab a big slice somewhere else and we can move on to the next thing."

"Oh, okay?" she responded, nodding and curious about their next stop that he seemed to had planned. "Then let's go."

And that was how it was. Sabo had planned out the whole day. Maybe the lunch at that pizzeria was a fail, but he knew she liked funny things and art so that he had looked up for something related to the niches they could do in that town. There was an exhibition that combined both aspects together only for that months. Reviews said it was a fun place for people all ages, so he didn't hesitate to buy the tickets.

After that he thought they could go into the arcade center. She had been there with Shachi and Penguin a few times and always talked so much about it and how she would love to go there with him.

As for summer, he knew there needed to be something refreshing and ice cream was not in his mind. He hadn't chosen that day randomly, but knew on the open market was a booth, selling fruits and smoothie. When he had been there a week ago, the seller told that a new sort of watermelon would get in that day and so he planned to buy one and spoon it up with her.

Quinn was taking care of the bouquet like it was her child. Whenever it got crowded, she protected it or raised it into sky where no one could reach it. Sabo was glad to see that she liked it. Honestly, he hadn't made her so many presents yet and always surprised her in a rather unromantic way, so he had been scared that she would sort of rejected his little gift.

During the whole day, Quinn gave him smiles that were unbelievable tender to usual. She was also quieter; for example when the vendor at the ice cream shop (yes, they still ended up with ice cream after the watermelon) had given her a scoop extra. Quinn would normally display very much gratefulness and joy half over the day for that, especially free food, but today she dealt with it rather sober in comparison. A friendly and modest thank and she had taken it, repeated once more her thankfulness and ate it up without anymore words about it.

Sabo was unsure if that was something good and if she wanted to talk about it. But it didn't seem like she was aiming a conversation like she had done the evening at the funfair. Her hand was linked into his and she walked by his side without glares and those embarrassed flinches she always did when he caught her glaring.

Was her mind somewhere else? Where exactly? Why wasn't she talking?

"Quinn."

She looked up at him. "Hm?"

"You alright?"

"Sure!" she claimed. "Why?"

They stopped in front of a park and moved to the side to get out the way. Sabo turned to her, studying her face a little with uncertainty. "You're mad at me, am I right?"

Quinn paused for a moment and only offered him silence as she hadn't expected that question. She then shook her head. "No, I'm not mad. Does it seem like I am?! I'm really not! Quite the contrary, I'm happy right now!"

He furrowed his brows, still unsure if he could believe her. "We haven't seen each other this month that much. Maybe you're mad because of that."

"No, that's okay," she responded. "You were busy, but now you planned that whole day and it's fantastic!" She smiled and moved the bouquet to her face, looking at the petals more thoroughly. "I never had received a bouquet before and I've never been to such a thought-through date. The day was basically perfect."

Sabo couldn't believe that someone like her had never received flowers from a guy, if he wouldn't know the back story with her first relationship. It made him even more happy that he had decided to get her some with the certainty that she would treat them very well. "Quinn, I'm really sorry; I should've taken more time to see and call you."

Her face sank to ground and thus became unreadable, making Sabo gulp. That apology was definitely too weak, he probably had triggered her after not letting it be with the 'okay' from her side. "Marshma-"

"Alright, I take it!" she said with a swing up, smiling brightly. "Apology accepted!"

Sabo's breath had stuck in his throat for a moment as he was sure this degenerated into something ugly. "Geez, why did you scare me like that?"

"Huh, scare you? Like what?" said she and added "like that?" She looked grumpily to ground and it was indeed the way he sort of had imagined it. Maybe less ridiculous. Quinn loosened the tension with a smooth laughter. "When do you need to get home again?"

"Doesn't matter," said he, "I'm free the whole day for you."

"Really?" Quinn asked, not believing it. "You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not. Really."

"Sabobobo," she said and tapped with the backside of her fingers lightly against his chest, rolling her eyes as if saying he shouldn't joke around.

"Hey, I said that and I meant that," he claimed, "we can even stay up the whole night!"

"Come on."

Sabo looked into her face, which smile asked him to stop saying that.

"No I'm-"

"Come on."

The second time she did it was the moment when he realized he had screwed things. Since they dated each other, there had never been a day she did not leave before it was too late. He always told her he had to wake up early or had other things to do after their meet. Of course, when she was at his place, he told her she could stay, but there was no chance of having a good night or so; and she knew that so that in order not to disturb him, she always decided to go home.

"Listen Marshmallow," said he and cupped one of her cheek with his hand. "This time, I'm here for you more than those... ten hours. You can trust me."

Quinn couldn't keep her mouth still, hence pursed it and stretched her lips in all directions while unfocusing him.

"Hey, what are the others up to tonight?"

"They're in the bar."

"Should we catch up too? You always want me to go, or not?"

Quinn tilted her head to her shoulder, looking up to the blue sky. "Naaaah, actually I don't want to." Surprised about that dismissal, both his brows raised in wonder. That was the first time for him to hear her turning down her friends. She invited him to come over so much, it was almost scary to hear that from her. But the explanation was quite simple. "We only have seen each other five times this month now, I want to spend the time alone with you."

"Oh, I see..." He slightly puffed his cheek to think about her statement and what to do instead. And as he was pondering, she leaned onto him and hugged him quietly. "Hey, what about my place then?"

"Hm?"

"Dadan and co are still away for a week and Ace isn't home as well," said he and mumbled with a wry smile to the side, "he voluntarily spent it in the tree house."

Quinn looked up at him, positively surprised about his offer. "That's really okay?"

"More than okay," he ensured.

"Sabo?"

"Hm?"

"It's not because we haven't taken the next step yet that made us not seeing each other, right?"

Overtaken by her question, he tensed his brows, treating it as something absurd. "What? Why do you think that?"

Quinn shrugged. "I dunno, maybe this annoys you... we're dating each other for three and half a month now and maybe you're impatient because it would be your first time, and for a guy it's kind of a status, and I heard guys get laugh at if they haven't slept with their girlfriends after such a long time, and maybe you're moody because of that, and maybe-"

"Marshmallow!" He grabbed her upper arms to made her facing him sharply. "I would never act like that for something so stupid. Really! And if a guy really wants to sleep with a girl, he would do everything to see her, making her feeling comfortable around him and so."

"Like inviting them to their place?"

"Yeah, like-" Sabo's cheeks turned red. "I really didn't go with that intention...!"

"Does that mean you don't wanna sleep with me?"

"What?"

"Am I not attractive to you? Don't you think I'm pretty?"

"What? No! I didn't say that...!" Swamped by her questions, he tried to put things clear. "You _are_ attractive! You're gorgeous! I would be surprise if anyone would think different!"

Hearing that, she smiled and clung onto his arm. "Alright, then I'm glad."

Sabo hadn't forgotten about Quinn and her sex issue. Sure now and then a thought of it slipped into his mind, that was normal when feeling attracted to someone, but he would never lay hand on her ever since the day when she had that panic attack in his room - not before they would have a talk about it. Back then, it had been an impulsive move that he regretted to this day.

* * *

Law got to the booth in the corner of the bar, holding a beer bottle in his hand. Before he could even settle down, he heard the loud murmur of the group, when in the same time Shachi and Penguin darted their eyes at him in split seconds. Unaffected about their conspicuous behavior, which annoyed Judy as she shot them warning death glares to stop, Law remained quite and showed his disinterest distinctly. He sat down next to Judy, drinking nonchalant from his bottle while the others were watching him, except for her as she was trying not to be that obtrusive.

"So Law, how are you?" Shachi was first to break the silence. Receiving no answer then, he looked at Penguin, murmuring, "oh no, he's not good."

"You idiot, he's always acting reticent," Penguin whispered loudly back.

With a full eye roll, Judy told them, "he can hear you. The _whole_ _bar_ can hear you."

The two inhaled, the sound of the intensity sounding through their nostrils, and they straightened, sitting properly turned to him. Law looked at them with his lazy eyes, staying quiet and didn't even consider questioning their behavior. He was used to weird friends.

"How was your day?" Penguin made the second attempt of getting into a casual conversation with him. "A good one? Could you save lives?"

"What is this?" Law finally asked, his tone sounding like an order.

The guts of the two flinched by his words and they dropped their jaws, trying to gather words for a reasonable response. What happened were big mess of words and half spoken excuses, explanations and apologies.

Judy hung with her face in one of her hands and her eyes moved up. "They're worried that the kidnapping still has effects on you."

"Y-yeah...!" Shachi finally confessed. "After, you seemed so quiet and pissed, thus we were worried you felt depressive or lonely...!"

His mate next to him didn't say a word, but nodded stiffly in agreement.

Law's eyes wandered over to Judy and she shrugged her shoulders with no interest herself in commenting anything about the situation. She already had an idea about his privateness (twice as much as usual) after the kidnapping anyway.

Slightly irritated, he decided to ignore them as well. It was well-meant, but not needed; and the way they were trying to comfort someone was simply miserable.

"How far did you come with Shachi's shop today?" asked he Judy instead.

She straightened from the table. "Well, it was okay. I think that place will be ready in a month."

Maybe it was better to take the initiative to talk when his two companions were with their minds only somewhere he didn't want to be. Getting updated about casual things in life was a good transition without making it too awkward or try hard.

Making use of his 'conversableness' though, Shachi asked, "hey Law! I've planned on celebrating the opening by inviting you all to dinner! How about 'Sushi exclamation mark'? Quinn said they got great grilled fish!"

"Yeah, you like grilled fish, right?" Penguin joined his attempt of making him feeling better and nodded to his mate's suggestion.

"Oh geez guys!" Judy snarled. "He's fine!"

"Hey, only because he says it, it doesn't mean it!" Shachi stated.

"And he hasn't even said it," Penguin added.

"I'm fine."

Hearing his flat words, they wanted to negate. It was basically unbelievable to them that anyone who had gone through such a rough night would be okay so fast. Papers and magazines proved that in many cases, people would go and look for a therapist. They were sure they were interpreting his quiet behavior right and opened there mouths to exhibit it.

Only a cold death stare glanced back at them before they could even talk.

"Ooookay, he's alright," they accepted all of the sudden, walling themselves with open hands in order to be protected by it.

When Judy and Law looked away from them after giving them uninspired glances, Penguin leaned a little closer to the redhead to whisper, "I'm not sure if that was a death stare or his normal."

"Leave it by normal."

Judy emptied her glass and put it down with a tired sigh. "So... no wonder where 'Peanut' is?" asked she as if mocking him.

A little twitch in his brows told his displeasure to her question.

"Oh, Quinn's on a date with Sabo," Shachi said, oblivious about either her or his behavior.

Judy stared at her empty glass while her hand span it idly. "Sabo, huh?"

"I don't know why I should care," said Law and kept his mouth shut for the rest.

"Yeah, I'd be happy if he would ever asked for _me_ and we're friends for who knows how long," Penguin commented with a little laugh, taking his disinterest easy. As his face wandered through the round, the amusement got less and he stopped his laugh and only stared at them with a froze smile. "Had he ever...? Had you, Law?"

Law looked at him and gave no words. His face was answer enough as it was neither packed with humor nor the need to respond.

"Dude," Shachi said annoyed, "he had stayed up the whole night to treat your injuries!"

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry!" he told Law then, "you're the best!"

"Pumquinn, Pumquinn, I wonder what she's doin'," Penguin sang, leaning relaxed back to the seat. Focusing nothing particular as he looked up, he imagined how her date with Sabo had been during the day and what they were doing right at the moment. "I hope he can make her a little more happy again. Ever since that kidnapping, she's so calm."

"Yeah, that poor thing had gone through a lot," Shachi added, the thought of it flooded him with compassion. "I'm kinda glad Sabo told his friend, otherwise she wouldn't have come in time."

As Penguin and Judy agreed to his statement, Law scoffed under his breath. It might had been quiet, but not quiet enough and so he gained attention from everyone. Also the little flicker of his right mouth corner revealed him.

"What was that?" Shachi asked, smiling confused at him. "Don't tell me you're not agreeing."

Law frowned slightly and tried to dissemble anything subjective. "I do appreciate her help, but if he had carried out the plan properly, nothing of that would have happened."

"Hey, you don't know that," Penguin replied, smirking and holding his finger up like a smart aleck. "Everything could have happened, he was just too impatient to not get her out. All in all it was his girl AND his little brother."

"He was just cocky."

"Nah, worried," Shachi said with an eye-wink. "You'll know when you meet someone too. And don't forget he's a family person."

When Law narrowed his brows and looked unconvinced away, Penguin leaned forward, bending over the table to stare into his face across. "Hey, are you _jealous_?"

Appalled about his guess, he glanced at him somewhat flabbergasted.

As the reaction came, Penguin's eyes grew bigger and he questioned in big doubt. "Do you _LIKE_ Quinn?"

Silence flitted between them and Shachi's jaw dropped while Judy, as her eyes shifted aside, inhaled a big chunk of air, making no sound.

Unpleased about that sudden and random question, Law strained his jaw and tried to keep calm. "No, I'm not."

Shachi and Penguin moved their faces to each other, very unsure about the situation they had brought themselves into. They slowly turned their faces back to Law, who was still staring coldly at them as if trying to convince.

"I-I mean, Quinn's a very nice girl," Shachi started like he wanted to warrant Law's feelings.

"Y-yeah." Penguin nodded, putting a determined face on. "She's really cute and pretty, a good friend."

"But you gotta respect her relationship with Sabo...!"

"R-right, even we totally understand your feelings...!"

Law suddenly straightened for a moment before his elbows settled down to the table, fingers folded and resting in front of his mouth. The stare he was giving the two was sinister. "Listen. I. Do. Not."

The two stiffed and zipped their mouths as a shiver ran down their spines. Gulping and nodding, they amended their previous statements. "You do not, we're sorry..."

Watching this, Judy lifted a brow and rolled her eyes away with a head-shaking. It was so obvious and the two probably still think it was just some meaningless flirt. Their naivety was annoying. Why did she have to be the only one to tell him to stop.

* * *

"You want something else?" Sabo asked Quinn as they sat together in the living-room of his home. They were on the couch in front of the TV and had been watching a show already for two hours.

"No, I'm good," she replied, "thank you."

"Alright," he let out in relief and took a deep breath as he gave everything a last glance. "Okay, you still got enough to snack and to drink; good, good."

Sabo then sat down again as well. His face turned to the girl as she was focused on the TV while shoving the popcorn one after each into her mouth. It really looked like she was actually interested in that soap-opera, that much she didn't pay him attention. Normally, she would notice immediately and blushed, asking embarrassed if anything was wrong with her face. But this time, she didn't.

The back door in the hall to the garden opened and Ace walked in, passing the living room with a casual, "what's up, Quinn?"

"Oh, Ace!" Quinn reacted right away, "I thought you're in the tree house?"

"The tree house has no toilet," he exclaimed before he disappeared inside the bathroom.

"Ace is such a sweet and funny guy."

"More than me?" Sabo asked jokingly.

She looked at him with a little sly smile. "Maybe?"

Not liking it as she shifted her attention back to the soap-opera, Sabo was thinking what he could do next to made it less awkward. He wondered if she even felt that way as it was unusual that the two stood that much in silence when being with each other. Maybe he wasn't the one to talk a lot but her; it didn't change the fact though that it was pretty different

"H-how did you find today?" he attempted another conversation. "Rate the date!"

Quinn chewed the popcorn in her mouth while humming as she pondered. Her eyes were still ahead, but focused nothing particular. "I think it's a date any girl wish to have," she answered then and looked at him, "a 10/10?"

"This sounds pretty _objective_ ," he responded with mock doubt, his eyes turning small and narrow. "Hm... what do _you_ think?"

"What _I'm_ thinking?" she said, pointing with her finger to her chest.

Sabo smiled and nodded. "Of course, be honest."

He was sure he had done everything right this time, he had been planning it from the beginning to the end and built stuff in that she liked or ever had considered doing.

"What I'm thinking..." she mumbled, staring back to before. "I think it was... great; romantic; sweet. I like the parts where it's seen you put effort into this and where you actually cared."

"So, the base of a date?" said he with a wry smile, already had expected some sort of witty irony or joke. Thinking about jokes, he couldn't remember that she had told one today or any in this month. His eyes moved up as he thought about it; if he just hadn't understood when she told one.

"Can I ask you something?" suddenly Quinn said and he looked back into her face right before she put the popcorn bowl down and moved closer to him.

"Hey, what's the matter, Marshmallow?" asked he as she snugged into his arms.

Her head leaned against his chest and she wasn't really holding tight onto him but only lay there with her arms smoothly around his torso. Sabo didn't know what that random move was supposed to mean in combo with her question. She stayed calm for a moment, saying nothing but tightened his shirt slowly into her hands.

"Where am I standing in your life?"

Sabo said nothing for a moment because he wasn't quite sure what the question was exactly about. He was surprised as it came out of the blue. Her voice had become calmer, but had this typical 'cute girlfriend pitch' in it, thus he felt like putting one hand gently on her head. "What do you-"

"I'm not first, I'm not second, neither I am third, right?" she spoke into his shirt as she hid her face, muzzling half of the content.

He understood it though acoustically, but in some kind of way wished he hadn't. The silence that roamed between them wasn't the same to only a few seconds ago. It was quieter. Much quieter.

"Hey, Quinn," said he then and grabbed her shoulders to push her up in order to face each other. He couldn't hear it nor did he see it, but he felt that something bothered her mind so much that she wanted to hide her face from him. Quinn didn't fight back as her body straightened again and he furrowed his brows, laying his hand around her cheek to stare into her wet eyes. "Don't."

"Is this relationship fun to you?" asked she.

"What?" he returned, confused about the next sudden question.

She slugged her shoulders and looked to her lap while her arms motioned between and around them " _This_ here. Do you like this all?"

"Of course I do," he answered as if it was a matter of fact.

"You're lying..."

"I'm not-"

"Yes, you do!"

He paused. Yes, he had expected her to be mad, but in his imagination this was lighter.

"Sabo," said she and glared back at him. It were only seconds again, he had no clue the look in someone eyes could change so much. They were redder; they glimmered as the TV light shone in; they made her talk like she was resisting tears. "I dunno in which aspect I failed as a girlfriend that you don't want me. What was that today? Every time my hope's dying, you do something like that, I don't understand you."

He should had known why she was so reversed the whole day. Her reactions to anything he had introduced her to, they were so underwhelmed, it hadn't been 'Quinn'.

"I did that because I had _disregarded_ you these days," he explained, "I seriously feel _bad_ for this. Believe me."

"And because you'd realized that a week ago, you made this date and thought everything was gonna be fine. Because I'm so much into you anyway, I won't struggle to forgive." Her voice was unsteady, it was trembling and trying to grasp a hold. He didn't like it. "I never expected anything of you but a little care and interest from your side. I just wanted you to come and ask me if I was alright; and you didn't come. You rarely came. Everyone and every _thing_ that was before me stands _above_ me"

Sabo knew he had done something stupid, and he knew he had no excuse. Somehow, it felt like he wouldn't even know what to answer if he had known they would have this right then.

"Why did you even ask me out back then? Why a second date? Why this all?" She breathed in shortly through her nose while her lips struggled to open, but switched to her mouth as the breath couldn't come through her nostrils anymore. Sabo had seen her weak a few times now, but this was something completely different. Why did it feel like someone was tugging on _him_? Putting the burden on _his_ back when she was clearly the one that fought. "You don't like me that much-"

"I do!"

"But not in that way!" She got up, pressing her fingers against her closed eyes. He shouldn't see it, so she tried to hide and withstand what wanted to flow. "You were busy, but if I'm important to you, it would've been only days, a week, maybe one and a half; but not _three_!"

Sabo got up too. "You know, the first couple of weeks I was busy taking care of Koala after work."

What was he saying? No, why had he spoken out that lame excuse?

"Yeah, I know. She's your best friend. You went to see her. Every day."

Sabo had planned the day from the beginning to the end. After the bouquet arrived, he understood that detailed plans for dates were a time waste. Not everything could go according to his plans nor every conversation or word thought about before or be prepared of. So he couldn't come up with excuses to anything she criticized; but he wouldn't want to excuse himself anyway. Quinn was hurt, he had hurt her and he still did.

When he didn't respond, she stepped up to him and glared into his face with a smile on her lips. Only her lips. "I am just a girl that happens to be in the right place at the right time, isn't it? Because something wasn't working right in your head."

His mouth moved as he wanted to correct her, but Quinn knew and didn't let him. "Sabo, I _know_ how it feels to be liked by someone shallowly. I've been through that whole 'dating because the type's matching my needs' thing before. You don't like me the way I like you, you never did. We're just another pair of friends with kisses and cuddles inbetween." Her hand stroke softly over his cheek, up to the strand of his hair, which she shifted away from his face as he couldn't look anywhere but in her eyes. "And the worst thing is, I can't even be mad at you like I want, because you were confused yourself."

Was he confused? Yes, he was. Maybe just as confused as she had been all the time. Sabo knew he liked Quinn in some kind of way, but it was clearly never the same amount like she did. Ever since they had been dating, Sabo was questioning her feelings because he didn't understand where they were coming from. Quinn had fallen for him. Just as Koala did.

He remembered that one night when Koala had approached him and confessed her feelings. He remembered the exact wording; the face she made; the tone she used. Even when she had claimed it was all an act due to being drunk, Sabo was never certain if he should believe her.

He knew Koala for so long, she was the girl he grew up with. No matter how ignorant he behaved, she was always there to support him. She knew him best. And he knew her.

But still, he hadn't returned her feelings.

Because he had no feelings? Because he was unsure? Because he was scared to risk their bond?

Maybe it was a bit of everything; maybe _a lot_ of everything.

He never had questioned how happy he felt when he was with her, he had never even considered it to be something deeper than simply getting-along well. Having romantic feelings for someone was new to him yet it had always been present. But up to then not enough to made him aware of them, to made him return those feelings. And it should stay like that; he was fine without them and wanted to stay away from that world.

And then Quinn happened. Cheerful and bubbly; just as Koala was.

Sabo never had told Koala about her. Quinn was a secret, a secret he had been holding onto in order to compensate his inner chaos. But the moment when he saw them together, actually knowing each other, it had overwhelmed him and he didn't know what he was even doing. Where he was standing. And what Quinn meant to him.

Though, no matter what he did, she was still on his side. Her kindness might have blinded him, it made her so likable. Hence, up to this very moment, he had no clue that he had been just using her all the time. That she was just a replacement.

"Sabo?" Quinn said quietly, "say something... please..."

He looked at her and even though she was saying all those things, drawing the line; he knew she was still hoping that everything she had said was wrong.

But it wasn't.

"I'm so sorry, Quinn..."

* * *

"I don't know why you're still making a big thing out of it," Judy told Law, the two sitting in her apartment. "Your feelings to Quinn are patently obvious, even those two had figured it out."

"They haven't."

"Because you're very intimidating. Not that I think it's not hot, but it's fact that you're manipulative and intimidating."

On the chair laid-back, Law narrowed his brows a little at her. "Geez, I haven't taken you home to annoy me."

"No, you did because Quinn would be devastated if anything bad would happen to me around this time alone on the street," Judy replied, smiling somewhat sarcastically.

He sighed and looked away in annoyance. "I don't know why you want me to get over her so badly. You may be her best friend, but this has nothing to do with you."

"I'm just making sure that you're not getting between her and Sabo."

"As if I've got the need to."

"Oh Law. I know what this is about," she stated with an eye roll. "Unreturned feelings; jealousy; confusion. Yes, I'm just her best friend that got nothing to do with this, and still I'm the person you talk to."

He frowned and Judy got up, moving to the cupboard. "How about a drink? I received that as a present from work and never had the opportunity to open it." She took the Vodka bottle in her hand and gasped out a laugh of self-irony. "Let's drink on life being shitty."

He watched how she added two shot glasses to her hand and placed them on the kitchen counter.

"What the fuck?" Judy said as she was about to open the bottle only to see it already had been opened. "Who the hell laid hand on my bottle?"

"Your friend."

Appalled, she looked at him. "Quinn?! But why should she? She doesn't drink."

Recalling that night and what she had said, Law didn't feel like exposing too much of it. "It seemed like she had had a bad day."

"What?"

"Something with Sabo, whatever, I don't know."

"No, _how_ _DO_ you know?" asked Judy, shooting him trustless looks. "Did you just get by again and she told you?"

"Yeah."

"And you wonder why you still have feelings for her?" she asked rhetorically and moved her attention back to the bottle, opening it. "It doesn't look like she drank much."

"She actually spat the first gulp out," Law said, his eyes fixing the bottle when he actually minded his memories. "Thought she could drink it like orange juice."

"Let me guess, she said something like 'this must be super good stuff!'"

"She did."

"Oh this gurl," Judy said a little amused, "she's so stupid..."

From the hallway, keys rattled behind the main door and surprised Judy. It was already after midnight and the only one with access to this apartment was her and Quinn, whom she thought to be at Sabo's. "Huh? That must be her."

Judy walked up to hallway, Law's eyes following her. He hadn't expected to see her today either, hence the only reason he got up inside as well. It was better that way; Judy was right about his random attendance. If he did so, he would never get over her.

"Hey Quinn, why are you back already?" asked Judy when the door opened, "I hope Sabo took you home around thi- Quinn?"

Law heard no response from where he was sitting and frowned a little into the direction when Judy's voice softened into worry. "Hey, what's wrong? Quinn, tell me what happened."

Quinn closed the door behind her and couldn't keep her eyes locked with Judy's. They shifted up and down and even in the little light that only shone from the living-room into the hall, they could be seen wet with tears. Her makeup was off, smudged under her swollen eyes. And her chin trembled as she was not able to bring out a word.

"No..." Judy whispered as her forehead wrinkled.

Quinn squeezed her eyes together before she walked straight into her arms. Her torso vibrated as she was trying to keep silent, but it was too hard not to make any sound. And so she burst out crying. Judy understood, and so did Law.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** I noticed I had put the Vodka bottle in the refrigerator in the previous chapter. Sorry, I meant cupboard lol!_

 _ **shippoman** \- Hey, thank you so much for those compliments! I, too, don't like it so much when people turn him into a blood-lusting creep, so I'm very happy to hear you like my interpretation of his personality (especially since it's a modern AU). I don't know, but for me when I stop posting a story, reviews are the thing that keeps me up because they show me that there are people genuinely interested in the story. But also, I can understand people who do not review. It feels like a waste of time and energy when nothing ensues. Anyway, long reviews like yours always made my day, so thanks again!_

 _ **Nightmare22** \- Ah, I was worried that my writing was too flat and corny, so I'm very happy I could make you feel this way! Your last sentence in the first review killed me LOL; 'mini Laws and mini Quinns running around' - this is so funny and freaking cute worded. To the drinking thing: yeah, I wouldn't say she drank, more like she was trying haha. As always: thanks for reviewing :)_

 _ **Guest** \- Thank you so much, relieved and glad to hear that! I love to see readers interpreting characters feelings right and I also think he would have stayed if she just told him ;) _


	45. Three days

**45\. Three days**

"Three days. She has locked herself for three days now."

"The worst is that she still has over four weeks holidays left."

It was another warm summer afternoon, just after Quinn had come back home with teary eyes, crying out on Judy's shoulder. Now Shachi and Judy were sitting in the shadow at Penguin's work while that one was on the ground, doing his work. In his dirty work trousers, soiled with fuel and diverse other substances, he listened to the redhead and brunette who had gotten by after work. Well, Judy had the day off; Shachi just finished.

"Yeah, I don't see her anymore," Judy told, "food has disappeared when I wake up or come home, and now and then I hear her leaving her room for a moment deep at night; it's like living with a ghost."

"I can pretty much understand her," Penguin said, cleaning with a cloth the rest of the dirt on the tool in his hand, "I was really depressed too when me and my girlfriend broke up."

"Oh yes, you never had seen him wailing so much," Shachi said, nodding instantaneously to his statement.

"It would've worked out if she didn't move... Guess I gonna marry my next girlfriend asap, so she can't just get away."

"Hm... and what had helped you getting over it?" asked Judy.

"The thought that she'd come back, until I ditch it when she found a new guy." He sighed then and felt uncomfortable to confess, "so... sleeping with another woman. She was just a coworker from where I was a pizza delivery boy, nothing too emotional."

Judy glared at him with narrowed eyes and decided then, "...this is not gonna work." She looked at Shachi. "And you?"

"Oh Shachi, he wasn't better."

"I was super angry after my ex had cheated on me," Shachi told,"I guess this is when I started drinking..."

"Oh geez," Judy snarled out a little, "why had those events affected you so negatively?" Nothing of those would help Quinn the slightest.

Shachi leaned back and shrugged his shoulder, treating his answer as normal, "we were young and hopeless."

"Yes, unfortunately," said Penguin, getting up and wiped the grime off his trousers. "Lemme finish this and we can go."

...

Judy thought she had done her best by leaving Quinn alone, giving her space after the break up; but Quinn was so uncommunicative, it worried her. With Penguin and Shachi she went upstairs into the apartment, hoping that when those two were attendant, the girl would get out of her room finally.

The two guys followed right behind and were somewhat eager to enter the place. All in all it were their first time to do, seeing those women's apartment where Law had been in their eyes like a thousand of times. Opening the door and getting inside, they talked themselves into smelling something feminine. Scents of flowers? Fruits? Anything cliched? Whatever they wished to smell, the apartment was definitely different to their own; bigger and cleaner.

Standing in front of Quinn's room, Judy placed one hand to her hip and knocked with the other. "Quinn, you there?"

She received no answer, hence she knocked again, but continued still with no success. When she pressed her ears against the door, she could hear something (or rather say: Quinn) moving inside. Her eyes rolled for a brief moment over to the two behind her and she backed off a little. "Quinn, answer me."

"Maybe she's sleeping?" Shachi whispered.

"I don't think so,"Judy said, "I heard someone."

"So, you basically haven't talked in three days?" asked Penguin, still in disbelief, and she nodded.

With both hands now angled to her hips, Judy sighed and thought about what she could do next. The others shrugged their shoulders when she consulted them with her eyes, so she turned those back to the door.

Judy then had an idea. "Knock knock."

Penguin and Shachi exchanged confused looks before they stared back at Judy who was standing there in silence, seeming to await a response.

And when they thought nothing was going to happen, a quiet answer bounced back from inside the room. "...Who's there?"

Judy let out another quiet breath, mumbling "there you go." She didn't take much time to answer loudly, "Judy."

"Judy who...?"

"Judy, the one to tell you to get out."

"No."

She grabbed the door handle. "I'll get in, alright?"

"No," Quinn told her, but got ignored. When Judy tried to open the door then, but failed as it was still locked, she rolled her eyes in annoyance and Quinn said, "I told cha, 'No'."

Judy narrowed her brows minimally. "Shachi and Penguin are here too."

"Hey Quinn!" Penguin said instantly as a proof.

Also Shachi did with no pause between their sentences. "Yeah, hey, how are you?!" Right after he had asked, his company shot him irritated gazes so he could realize how stupid his question was. "Oh shit, uhm, sorry..."

Shaking her head, Judy stared back at the door. "You wanna get out? We got you something."

"No," Quinn said.

"It's a cake."

"Thanks, but I don't care."

"Man, this is harder than I thought," Judy mumbled one more, grasping her chin pensively.

"You thought she would bite the cake thing?!" the guys shouted in whisper at her.

Ignoring them, the brunette continued, "Quinn, I know you're sad, but there's no sense in locking yourself like a child now. Three days have been enough. Stay classy after a breakup."

"Quinn, we're there for you!" Shachi added cheerfully.

And also Penguin tried to encourage her. "Yeah, let's have some fun together!"

A long silence with nothing in between ensued and the three outside the door stared against it in hope, not knowing what to say or do next. It seemed almost hopeless to get her out of that room and so they furrowed their brows, trying to come up with anything else to see her back on feet again.

But suddenly the door unlocked and opened with Quinn looking at them.

"Holy shit," Judy said, "you look awful."

...

As they had managed to lure their friend outside, the bunch gathered in the living room, facing each other at the empty dining table. Quinn sat there with an oversize T-shirt that could get through as a dress, her hair uncombed and greasy while a big depressive pout came from her lips. She was staring on her knees as she had pulled her legs close to her body

Shachi, who sat next to Quinn, tilted to her, trying to lift her mood with a smile. "Hey, you wanna go somewhere?"

"Yeah, we're gonna treat you for anything you want," Penguin said, smiling as well. "Your favorite cafe?"

Settling her face down to her knees while putting her arms around her legs, she shook her head slightly. "You guys are so sweet, but I dunno, I don't feel like eating or so..."

"We go outside anyway," Judy told. "It's better for you to get some fresh air and actually do something now."

"Yeah, let's just go," Shachi agreed with cheering undertone. "I'm sure you'll feel better afterwards."

"I dunno..." Quinn mumbled. "What if I run into Sabo? This would be sooo awkward, I don't wanna say 'hi' to him nor ignore him."

Judy got up and walked over to her, pulling her from her chair by her holding her wrists. "We may be in a small town, but it's big enough to not certainly run into anyone particular."

"But I always run into Trafalgar too," Quinn tried to support her argument. "And this guy's working full-time until the late evening. I think..."

"But _Sabo's_ not _Trafalgar,_ " Judy replied, suppressing her slight irk. "You look super greasy, go and take a shower and we'll have fun today." She walked behind Quinn and shifted her with both hands on her back towards the bathroom.

"Hey, wait," Quinn said, tilting her face over her shoulder, "but my clothes."

"I get them." Judy pushed her without much trouble inside.

"But I don't kno-"

"Go," she ordered, closing the door before her nose. She then stayed there staring a little to be sure that Quinn would not get out again. As the girl didn't, Judy looked over to the dining table where the two guys were watching and chit-chatting. "You two wanna see what Quinn's wearing underneath her clothes?"

"What...?!" they exclaimed confused and blushed.

"Just kidding."

As she walked away to get Quinn something to put on, Shachi stared after her. "Oh man, this woman."

"Hey, let's ask Law if he wanna come too," Penguin suggested randomly.

The redhead turned his face back at him. "Isn't he at work?"

Penguin put out his cellphone and sent him a message. "Not sure, lemme ask."

Relaxing then, Shachi leaned back and stretched his body with a yawn before he said, "I feel so sorry for Quinn."

"Can I be honest?" asked Penguin and his mate looked at him in wonder. "I liked Sabo, but I had the feeling he wasn't the right for her anyway."

"Why that?"

"She seemed not herself when they dated," said he, struggling somewhat to explain his point, "I mean, she _was_ , but not herself-self, you know?"

"Hm... I get what ya mean. She was _her_ , but somehow _different_."

"Yeah! But only when Sabo was around, I guess?"

"Sorta..."

"She seemed kinda stupid," Judy suddenly appeared with a clear statement from behind. "Just say it, Quinn was _stupid_ in love with him." She took the chair from afore and sat down with strict expression. "I don't care what reasons he had, but he better not show up anymore."

"That's harsh of you," Shachi said quietly.

"No, it's not. He was using her for his own well and broke her heart many times. I don't care if he told her he did it wittingly or not. If he'd come to apologize or explain himself again for his conscience, Quinn will misinterpret it and hope there's still something."

He looked down, not thinking much about it before he would agree in guilt for talking bad behind Sabo, "you're right..."

"Quinn deserved better than this guy, I knew anyway they're gonna break up someday."

His attention wandered from her to her rear and he straightened in shock. "Ah Judy..."

"Though I expected _him_ to do," Judy continued, "she's too naive for."

"Judy..."

"Gosh, they should've done that long time ago, I don't know why she was still trying so hard."

"Juudy..."

"It's alright," Quinn was next to appear out of the blue, passing them to get to the refrigerator, "just as you said, I should've known earlier."

Surprised, Judy glanced over to Shachi whose face only offered a 'I've tried to stop you, don't blame me for her hearing you!'. Quietly with tensed face, Judy looked back at Quinn, uncertain how to react. "Quinn, you know I don't mean it that way."

"You did," Quinn said, filling water into a glass. "But I'm not surprised, I've known before you didn't support us, so don't worry. Be mad at him, I know you just mean well for me."

"Aren't you?" asked Judy cautiously, causing curiosity also from the other two.

Quinn made a weary sigh and turned her front side to them, leaning against the counter with the glass in her right hand. "I have no energy to be mad at anyone. Thrice a year, and this year I already wasted two on Trafalgar and you. Otherwise it disturbs my algorithm."

'Waste' wasn't the word Judy wanted to hear. It just made it sound like she _wanted_ to rant on her now new ex-boyfriend, but somehow couldn't. "You really make me feel bad, you know that?"

"You don't have to," Quinn told and rinsed the glass to put it away. With a flat expression she passed the bunch at the table. "So, let's go outside now."

Staring after her as she went back into her room to get ready, the group didn't like how this had turned out.

"Well done, Judy," Shachi said in slight mock, turning her mouth corners downward without any further comment.

...

Just as had said, they ended in Quinn's favorite café close to her work. Together they were trying to enjoy the ordered cakes and cold drinks, but it was harder to bring a smile on that melancholic face than thought. Quinn sat there and stared at the pie while poking the top with her fork, saying nothing. Not only that her mood was low, you could pretty much see it on her clothes and body posture. The whole way to the cafe she was sitting and walking with slugged shoulders in jeans and a lumpy T-shirt she hadn't even ironed (and thereby Judy had picked her an outfit). Her hair was tied to a messy ponytail, part of it not even dry yet.

As she put the fork down and shifted the cake toward the table's center, they looked at her until she said, "nah, I don't want it."

"Sure?" asked Penguin, stopping his fork half-way to his mouth.

"I wanna go elsewhere... " Quinn told and stood up. "I mean, you can finish, but I'm gonna head outside for a while."

Quinn left with the quiet stares at her back before Shachi spoke out in frustration as she was gone, "aaah, I hate seeing her like that!"

"She didn't even taste the cake," said Penguin, looking at the pie that stayed, except for the fork holes, untouched.

"Fuck." Hearing that, the four eyes moved to Judy, who was staring with neutral expression ahead into space. She repeated herself then, this time more in little upset. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

"What's wrong?" Shachi asked, not grasping her bother.

Judy let her head fall into her hands with her eyes pointing down to the table. She moaned deeply with regret and discernment. "I've totally forgotten that this is the place she spent little time with Sabo first."

"Ouh. Shit."

* * *

It was the bar Quinn had ended up alone. Though she might have said she would be out only for a while, she made use of the time where the group was still inside, finishing all the stuff they had ordered, and went to the bar on her own. This was the place she was certain to not run into Sabo at all. Sitting on the bar stool at the counter, she hung with her face in her hand and just let out her mood clearly written on her face.

"What's with the long face?" Milo asked as he halted in front of the girl.

"Hi Milo..."

"Oh no, ye don't look good. Wanna tell what happened?"

"Sabo and I broke up," said she idly.

"No, ye joking," he replied, a tad shocked.

"No, we've broken up three days ago..." Quinn told, straightening a little except for the head. With a big sigh, she moved it up to face the ceiling for a moment, whining exasperated, "I feel so stupid, Milooo. What is thiiis?"

"Where's Judy?" asked he.

Quinn pursed her lips and nestled her chin back in one hand, slight displeasure shown on her face. "I was with her and Shachi and Penguin half an hour ago, and they try to comfort me, but I dunno... I don't feel like that. I don't feel like receiving comfort from people who hadn't believed in this relationship anyway."

"Ah sweetie," Milo said, "you're still young, this isn't the end of the world. It's totally normal, almost everyone has to go through this once. But later, when yer head's not hanging anymore, it's experience ye can talk about."

She remained quiet and her lips arched, not convinced about his encouraging words.

"I mean, just think about the good moments ye had with him. Don't regret it."

"But it was all just temporarily."

"A lot of things that makes us happy's just temporary. But that's fine, new good things are always coming."

"Milo; you're so sweet," she said. It felt good to be comforted by someone who was completely neutral to the situation.

Milo put a big cocktail glass in front of her, snapping her back to the moment as her mind slowly rambled away. "On the house!"

She looked at it and back into the bartender's face, who then earned the first smile of hers on that day. "Thank you."

Half an hour later, after spending it in front of the bar with Milo's company now and then when he didn't have to serve other customers, Quinn heard Judy from behind suddenly calling her name. She turned around to face the bunch she had left behind.

"Hey, why did you just leave?" Penguin asked. "We were worried."

"I'm sorry, I just- sorry. Stupid me."

Judy narrowed her brows. "Stop calling yourself stupid so often, it's _annoying_."

"Huh? But you do that too!"

"Yeah, but I'm not you. I'm a second person whose opinion shouldn't matter to you. But if you call yourself like that, you're talking yourself down and this makes you only self-conscious." She cocked her head in confidence. "I, for example, would never call myself something bad, this is _unattractive_."

"Slut. Dumb. Shallow. Arrogant. Ignorant. Mean."

"See, I don't care."

"Touché."

Her side leaned against the bar counter, between the stool Quinn was sitting and another empty one, and she looked at the girl with the cocktail glass in her hands sucking on the straw. "Anyway, you prefer staying in the bar?"

Quinn's eyes wandered off for a swift moment and Milo noticed that. "Hey Judy," said he, getting her attention as she seemed completely oblivious. With a head-motion, he asked her to lend him a second to talk eye to eye, thus Judy got over to him a few meters farther. "We know ye mean well, but I think it's better to give her some time by herself."

Not understanding, she said, "what? But she's just closing herself off from everything. This isn't good. We haven't talked or see each other already three days long."

Feeling hard to tell her, he gathered his guts and said, "she doesn't want to talk to you guys now."

Surprised about that statement, Judy's lips parted with no response possible. She took a deep breath then and tried to keep a calm face. "Oh, I see. Well then..." Turning to Shachi and Penguin, who were standing there not knowing what to do, she signalized them to get out with her, leaving. "If you need something, call me, okay?" told she Quinn, who only nodded faintly with a weak 'thank you' smile.

Shachi and Penguin offered her their ears too in any case she needed someone else by her side. Then they were gone and Quinn relieved.

* * *

When Quinn had come home, crying out on Judy's shoulders, it was a guarantee that something really bad had happened. Law hadn't questioned it, he had never seen her crying that way, not even when they had been in captivity, but there was only one thing he could have thought of and that one had made him unsure to stay or not.

He was standing between the dark hallway and the living-room, staring at her. It wasn't a loud whiny cry but filled with so much disappointment and pain, coming from the girl he liked, and he had no clue how to act and response.

It wasn't an occasion to be happy about, but Law felt a big load just got off his mind just as he understood the situation. He felt bad for wanting that to happen, but relieved that her cry meant there was no reversion. It was sort of gloat to his own well. He could watch her all day standing there, dumped by that guy, yet he didn't like to see how she was suffering until her eyes would do no more.

Judy's eyes wandered over to him, looking over Quinn's head who was pressing her face against the brunette's shoulder. Only a quiet exchange of looks, nothing more. It was so quiet and expressionless from her, Law had to hold his frown. He wanted to leave, he didn't want Quinn to know he was there too.

As he decided to pass her quietly to get to the door, Quinn straightened a little and perceived him from the corner of her eyes. His heart paused for a moment as their eyes met, as her red teary eyes stared at him, and he felt uncomfortable and helpless right away. In a blow of only dozen of milliseconds, so many thoughts raced through his mind. 'Should he say something' or 'should he say nothing' were the elementary questions that bothered him. Had he the right to comment on this? She considered him her friend, so yeah; but Judy remained quiet too. Why? What was a normal friend supposed to do in this moment?

It was just before his mouth could open when Quinn's gaze sank back to the shoulder and Law knew then, she didn't want him to be there. She thought she was alone with Judy. He should have waited for a later, better situation to leave. And his heart was throbbing when he tried to behave calm as he walked out the door.

Had he done something wrong? He had been wondering this three days long. It was exhausting and upsetting to think about how he could have done better, thus he had been trying not bothering it.

In those three days he hadn't spoken with her, no one did. When Penguin had texted him, Law had been at work. To his bad as he had wanted to see her so badly, or... sort of. It didn't matter how much his urge was to see a person, he still felt some awkwardness when thinking back to how they parted last. Approaching her in the group would make it surely less uncomfortable, so he was sure to get by after work. But when Penguin had sent another message, telling him that they had left Quinn alone in the bar, Law had considered for a minute not to go. There must be reasons why they did so; if she didn't feel good, he didn't need to make her more uncomfortable.

But in the end, he knew he was just making excuses to himself.

So as he walked in the late evening into the bar, he spotted her alone in a booth while she was staring at nothing particular focused. In his hand he held a little cube-shaped box, which he glanced at for a swift moment before deciding to walk over to her.

"You alone here?"

Quinn looked up at him as he was standing in front of the booth and took place next to her then, putting the small box on the table.

A ghost of a smile washed over her face and she looked back down. "I didn't feel like hanging out with the others today." She looked at the box. "What's this?"

"This is for you."

"For me?" Surprised, her eyes returned to him and then back to the box, taking it in her hand to eye it more thoroughly. 'Good Mood Tea' was written on it and tickled out a little laugh from her. "This is the same brand I've bought you the 'Good Night Tea' from."

"I know," Law said. "I happened to have that around."

"It's not open."

"Never drank it."

"Liar," said she with a small smirk at him, "why should you have something cute like this flying in your quarters?"

"If you don't want it, I can take it back."

"No, no. I take it, thank you." Eyeing the tea box again, her eyes soon narrowed in doubt at him. "Wait... are you mocking me?"

Law raised slightly a brow as he frowned. "What?"

"You're being nice, you're mocking me, right?"

"I've brought you tea, I don't know what's mocking to you."

Her lips widened to a discomforted smile and she shrugged her shoulders, looking away from him. To her, the reasons were clear.

"If I wanna mock you, I have a dozen other ways to do," he added.

"Like openly making fun of me now for believing so much in that relationship?" she said with a little self-irony. "This... how did you call it? Teenage romance?"

"That would be an example," said he, making her smiling sarcastically.

"Great," she said, "guess I was the only one who didn't see that coming."

"I didn't," he claimed. "I didn't care enough to do."

Her idle eyes wandered back at him. "Alright, at least that."

Law studied her a little as she lowered her face into her hands, not minding to look elsewhere again. Everyone knew about the breakup, but Law had no info what had led her or him to this decision. From her behavior, he couldn't expect her to talk on her own, though this was normally how it worked. But he could be sure it was nothing that had ended good. Waiting a little in silence, he asked then. "What happened?"

Quinn side-glanced him, still hanging with her face in her hands. "I thought you don't care?"

"Not enough to see it coming, but enough to ask."

"I don't feel like talking about it... maybe another time."

Another time. At least that

"Today, I..." she continued, "I dunno, the others tried to lift my mood, but I somehow don't want to. I feel like I've lost a game to them and be the stupid one after hearing that not even Penguin believed in it."

"What happens when a cop goes to bed?"

Confused about the reply not suiting her statement at all, she looked at him with furrowed brows. "Sorry?"

"I said, what happens when a cop goes to bed?"

Quinn looked at him for a moment with slitted eyes, digesting his words she wasn't sure about. "Are you telling me... a joke?" asked she then, cautiously. As Law didn't feel like answering but rather uncomfortable that she had to speak that out like that, a soft smile grew on her face up to her eyes. "He becomes an undercover cop. The first time I heard it, I laughed a lot."

He tilted his head away and sighed. "Why am I trying, you know all jokes anyway."

"Got another?"

"No."

"You looked it up for me?"

"...Yeah."

Quinn leaned back, her smile not faltering. "Tea and a comforting joke, what have I done to receive this honor?"

"Let's say, we're celebrating your independence," said he nonchalant.

"Oah, seriously?" Quinn responded, "and I thought you were cute for a moment."

She folded her arms, staring with pursed lips to her lap so that a smirk grew back on his face. That huffy reaction was what he had expected, not the heavy melancholic one.

"Told cha, you came to mock me. I should never get into a relationship ever again, pff."

"If no one's there, you can't be hurt, indeed."

"You've never been in one, so why are you talking?"

"Observation and logical conclusion."

Quinn half-lidded her eyes. "...Right. This one still exists."

When Law kept silent, she leaned forward over the table and looked at him, almost obtrusively. "And you're never been in love before?"

"Yeah," Law replied simple.

"Not even a crush?"

"No."

"Middle school?"

"No, Peanut."

"High school?"

"No."

"College?"

"No."

"You're lying." She had seen a tiny twitch on his forehead, thus made that allegation. With a big grin, she budged up a little closer to him. "Tell me! What was her name? Was she younger or older? Did you study the same? Oh my god, was it... Cecilia?"

Law leaned his head a little back as it tilted aside, responding carefree, "that you still remember that name."

"Good brain, boing," she said, tabbing her own head lightly with a fist. "Sooo, Cecilia, huh? You like older women? This suits you. I imagined you to be with someone tall and pretty and definitely at least your age. Basically someone like you, and as you know, people who are alike find to each other because the harmony works and that's why I was so attracted to Sabo, because he was so funny and happy and-and-and," bringing her thoughts back on Sabo, a sudden wave of depression hit her and she lowered her head on the table, wailing, "meeeeeh, Sabooo..."

"The perfect example that it doesn't always work out," Law said, shamelessly.

"Yeah, you're right..." she mumbled, still with the same pouting expression. In a jerk then, she straightened her body and confronted Law again with big eyes. "Doc! Am I pretty to you?"

"What?" he said, staring back at her with eyes slightly taken aback.

"Do you think I'm pretty? Or am I ugly to you? I'm at least a six, right?"

He wondered what she was thinking again by asking him something shallow like that, but didn't bother to answer, "zero."

Her eyes became smaller again, uninspired by that answer. "Ass."

"Right, zero ass," Law summarized, "you got zero ass."

"Now you're just fooling yourself."

Law smirked and leaned a bit forward to her too. "So, you wanna tell me something different?"

Her face increased a bit in color and her eyes turned back huge in embarrassment. "I, I, I, I, I..."

"You, you, you, you, you?"

"I hate you."

"Vice versa."

"You're a one."

"How merciful."

Quinn leaned back into the seat again. "I know, right? I'm always one nicer than you."

His smirk changed slowly to a little smile, but was interrupted as his cellphone chimed. He pulled it from his pocket and checked who was disturbing him around that time.

"Who's that?" Quinn wanted to know as well.

"Penguin," Law said and then answered the call, "yeah?"

Patiently, she was watching him as he took that call, wondering what the matter was.

"On my way home," he told the other side of the line and her patient and relaxed face changed a little to suspense. He didn't make the call long though and hung up just seconds later he had said that.

"You're leaving now?" asked Quinn.

Law checked the time on his screen before he put the device down. "My bus is coming in fifteen minutes."

"Oh, okay."

"You gonna stay here?"

"No," Quinn said and got up. "My bus is coming too. I leave now. Thanks for the tea and see you."

Her decision happened without a warning and he watched her as she stepped out the booth, walking towards exit. Again, the mood drop (at least he thought so) wasn't planned; he had come in order to lift it, hence was confused why it turned out quite bad at the end and then so sudden.

"Peanut," Law stopped her midways and she turned to him, staring. His forehead tensed a little. "Take care of you."

Quinn's lips formed to a straight line, but grew soon to a smile beyond her eyes. She nodded as a last good-bye and left.

* * *

As Quinn got home around ten, the whole apartment smelled like pancakes and carried her straight to the kitchen after kicking her shoes off. Judy was still awake and stood in front of the stove, swinging the hot pan.

"Oh, there you are," said she as she heard Quinn entering. "Perfect timing. Were you in the bar all the time?"

"Yeah," Quinn answered and moved up to her to look at her doing. "You're making pancakes?"

"I thought you haven't eaten yet, so yeah."

Her brows furrowed with mouth corners sunken so deep down in shame. "Juuuudy, you're the beeeest. I'm sooo sooorry I was so rejecting todaaay, thank you all for trying to comfort me."

"Yeah-yeah, it's alright." Judy turned the stove off and put the large pancake onto a plate. As she was putting a sweet apple sauce filling on it, her eyes noticed the box in Quinn's hand. "What d'you got there?"

"Oh, uhm, 'Good Mood Tea'" Quinn told, lifting it a little to show her the label. "Trafalgar got me this, isn't it cute?"

Judy stopped after she had folded the pancake, raising a questioning brow at her.

"I think he showed up after work," Quinn explained. "We just talked a little, not long and then he had to go again."

"I see..." Judy mumbled somewhat, spraying whip cream on the side and finished the plate with chocolate sauce. "You feel better?"

"Yeah, I do- woaaah! Is that for me?! It's so pretty!" Again, her face showed how bad she felt for turning her friends down today and she gave her friend a big hug. "Ahh! I love youuu, I'm so sorry, please don't be mad at me, I was acting so stupid, I won't do this again!"

"Yeah-yeah, I said it's alright," Judy repeated and looked away as if annoyed. "Better eat this now and get a cup of this tea before you go to bed."

"Yes, Mommy," Quinn said with a big smile and let go of her.

After enjoying the pancake Judy had prepared for her, she went with a hot tea mug inside her room and got comfortable on her bed. Holding it in her hands and waiting for it to cool a little, she did a quick review of today, but tried not to bother her mind too much with it. It wasn't the best, but the bar had made it okay. Maybe it would have been better if she could have stayed a little longer in company...

Anyway.

As she sipped from the tea Law had brought her, her tongue stretched out with a gasp. "Eww, it's bitter..."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Thanks for the many reviews on the previous chapter and you're not the only ones happy they broke up, so don't feel bad hehe (I, too, wanted to get to this point so badly)._

 _ **skypineapples33 & Nightmare22** \- When I wrote that phrase, I also thought that would be a great way to hint bisexuality, but I'm sorry to disappoint you: my Law is 100% straight._


	46. To care

**46\. To care**

After Judy and the others had managed to get her out of her room, Quinn let it be and tried to get back to her normal life. Most of the time, she was alone since the others still had to work. She painted a lot to distract herself and went jogging to leave the house once a day. On a bright afternoon when she came back from another jogging session, Quinn halted by her apartment's building the moment she spotted two known faces in front of the entrance door.

Ace and Koala moved their faces over to the surprised girl, who unplugged her earphones to listen what brought them over.

"Hey, Quinn..." Koala started with a timid smile.

Since the kidnapping, Quinn hadn't seen Koala again, thus was a little bit confused about her sudden arrival at her personal place. Especially after her break up with Sabo.

Feeling the tension in the air, Ace looked away, inhaling deeply. "I guess I leave now and you two-"

"No, wait," said Quinn, stopping the guy as he was about to walk away. "Why are you two here?"

Koala felt hard talking to her, but she did her best to lead the conversation. "How are you?"

"I would lie if I say I'm good..." said Quinn.

"I came to talk to you."

"And I was just force to come too," Ace mentioned swiftly as he stood behind Koala.

Her hands folded and she couldn't stop fidgeting around with her fingers while looking a little away from Quinn. "Sorry, I was just unsure to go and didn't know who else could accompany me."

Quinn, of course, knew what the issue between them was and though, she wasn't prepared to talk to her ever again.

"You know, Sabo and I..." Koala looked into her face, brows furrowed to guilt, "I should've told you from the beginning."

"You did," said Quinn. "That was the first thing you had told me back then. I mean, I had to conclude myself that you had meant _him,_ but..." Her bitter smile met the ground and she slightly mumbled, "I'm fine with it..."

"Sabo and I, we barely talk to each other these days," Koala told, making the blonde lifting her head back up. "I feel bad for you and what he just did, it has disappointed me. Sabo never mean to treat people bad, but he's such an emotional guy that sometimes doesn't get his feelings right. Right now he's just making himself down and I can't really comfort him without seeing how you are doing."

Staring at Koala, Quinn could be sure that everything she was saying wasn't lied. She felt guilty for things he had done; but Quinn had no reason to be angry at her, quite the contrary.

"It's okay, be with him All in all, you're the reason why this all had happened. I'm happy it's you."

"But-"

"I don't want to be mad at him nor you... I didn't just break up because I thought this wasn't working. I know he likes you and you like him, like..." She sighed quietly before a slight smile widened on her face, trying to be comforting. "We were never made for each other but you."

"Don't say that."

"But it's fact."

"I was really behind you," said Koala, "I really wanted it for you two to work out."

Hearing that, Quinn was glad. She was glad that not everyone had seen this relationship to be doomed to failure sooner or later. It was the most comforting thing at that moment, to know someone was behind her all the way she had been putting effort into it. Perking her head, she faced Ace, asking out of the blue vividly, "what did you think about this?"

He raised a brow as this took him off-guard. "Sorry?"

"Be honest, were you for or against this relationship?"

"Why are you asking _me?_ "

"Because I'm interested in your point of view."

Ace grasped the back of his head as he thought about how to start, his eyes moved up to the sky. "I knew he was struggling, so I had done my best to support him doing you good," said he, "I mean, he never had been with a girl and his way of thinking's kinda special..."

"I'm happy you are here," Quinn stated then and got between the two, locking her arms into theirs. They looked at her, caught unawares by the sudden mirth as she was staring ahead. "I got the feeling you're the only two who had wanted it to work out."

Because neither Judy, Shachi and Penguin had wanted it. And Law basically hadn't cared. The thought of it hit her hard and when her eyes struggled from one moment of the other not to cry, she wasn't sure if it were tears of sadness or joy.

Ace's face showed clearly helplessness when he realized she had left her head hanging because she was fighting tears. Seeking for support, his gaze wandered to Koala and expressed 'shit, she's crying...!'

'Say anything comforting!' Koala's expression responded with narrowed brows. But she saw that guy had no clue how to deal with a crying girl at all so that she took it upon herself. "Hey! Have you got time now?"

Quinn moved her chin up. "...?"

"Let's do something together!"

She straightened and wiped the tiny tears from her eyes to look normal again.

Koala smiled and cocked her body in confidence, both her hands around her hips. "Anything you ever wanted to do, but had no possibility to?"

Quinn's eyes shifted briefly from left to right before she said, "a shopping tour..."

"Shopping tour?" Koala wondered.

"Yeah like..." Embarrassed about that wish, Quinn poked her own cheek with a finger while barely looking at the ginger. "Walking with girlfriends from shop to shop..."

"Guess I'm out here," Ace stated instantly, both his hands lifted into the air. "I'm a man and definitely not made for this."

"Nooo, stay!" Quinn said. "We don't have to go shopping, we can go anywhere! I'm versatile, I can adjust to everyone! And-and-and, I like do boyish thing too, and, yeah, we can do anything together like being manly, or... uh, manly... and I dunno, ...please just stay too."

It was hard not to say 'yes' to anything she was saying at that moment. She got hurt enough these days and it really seemed like his attendance would help her to distract herself from what had happened. Drop-sweating somewhat, Ace's eyes moved from her to Koala, whose face only told, 'do it.'

* * *

In his break, Law got out his sanitary clothes in order to leave the hospital for lunch. Or something small to-go (it would be onigiris anyway). He never made the effort to get something to work as he rather used his mornings for quick exercises and a shower; or to sleep, depending on how long he had stayed awake the night before.

Walking out the staff room, the first person he was running into was Dr. Dillan, who just had come to start her shift.

"Oh, Trafalgar," said she. "How are you today?"

"Nothing outstanding happened to affect my usual mood."

"Okay, I see?" she said, smiling somewhat strained with folded arms. "How's Quinn?"

Law frowned. "Why do you ask _me?"_

Dr. Dillan raised both brows, showing no understanding for his irritated reaction. "Because you're friends?"

"She's..." Law hesitated to answer, but did when he thought it was no secret anyway, "she just broke up with her boyfriend."

She glared at him, jaw slacked. It took her a few attempts until she could word her reaction. "With Sabo?"

"Whom else?" Law countered, slightly annoyed. He was actually annoyed by only hearing that name.

"Wow, this... I didn't know," Dr. Dillan said baffled, "this must really hit her, I just know she liked him so much." Law remained silent and wanted to keep it so, when his colleague didn't ask, "how do you feel about it?"

Again, he shot her unpleasant gazes. "I've got nothing to do with this."

"I mean, you're still good friends, aren't you?"

"What are you trying?" Law asked with a rough undertone, "stop digging in my private life."

"Sorry, dear, I'm just worried and care for you-"

"You're not my mother, so stop it," he groaned a bit before he made a final turn to leave. Law was overwhelmed enough by his feelings, he didn't need anyone from the side caring about his business and making the situation harder for him than it already was.

When he was walking away, Dr. Dillan was facing his cold shoulder and he, indeed, had managed that the woman regretted her curiosity and meddling.

...

Law went into the small supermarket he always got his snacks from and left it again with a bag of onigiris, not expecting whom he was going to run into next.

In front of him stopped Sabo. Their eyes met for more than a second in silence, him doing nothing but standing with a wrapped paper tray of ice cream, his surprised stare equaled his own. But Law decided to walk past him since they got nothing to do or talk with each other.

Or _he_ thought so.

"Trafalgar."

Law stopped.

"How's Quinn?"

He tilted around to the guy, who was staring at him with stern expression. And it took him a while before he gave in to answer with a counter question, "why don't you ask her yourself?"

"You don't know how much I really want to..."

It didn't matter if that guy's words were tinged with sadness as real as Quinn's feelings were to him, Law still felt cold by it. "Suddenly?"

A rueful smile grew on Sabo's face and he looked down. "She probably had told you about everything, right? What was between us."

His statement confused Law somewhat, let him wonder what made him thinking that. No, she hadn't; why should she? Law was probably the one among everyone who knew nothing. But he lied in hope he would get to know more about what the problem was. "...Yeah."

"I never meant to hurt her like this. I feel awful," said Sabo with low mood and voice, "I can't even look into Koala's eyes. It feels completely wrong, like I haven't deserved neither of them."

His words weren't clear, but enough to let Law conclude what had happened and he understood right. "Are you telling me this so I can assure her how sorry you are?"

"No..." Sabo claimed, "in this case, it doesn't matter how sorry I am. It doesn't matter what good time we had or whom of us had spoken it out first. She's heartbroken anyway, and I think neither she, myself or anyone else would forgive me for that."

Yes, from what he had seen, everyone felt bad for Quinn and everyone was on her side. No wonder. But what about himself? Law wasn't sure. He could never really stand Sabo to begin with, with all the jealousy he had caused him; he had treated Quinn the way she didn't deserve it; but the longer Law had been watching that, the better he had felt and the more he had wished this guy to continue.

"Can I ask you something?" Sabo said then, gaining Law's full attention. "You like Quinn, right?"

Law's face stiffened.

"She talked a lot about you," Sabo continued then, smiling bleakly, "I don't know, sometimes it felt kinda off-place, but... well, _I_ certainly have no right to say things like that. However, I think you really have made a big impression on her. Thought you should know."

Was it so obvious? That even _he_ knew?

"Oh damn, the ice cream's melting!" Sabo burst out panicky as he looked down on the wrapped paper tray in his hand with the ice cream tubs inside. "Dadan and the other's will be mad!"

And Law still stuck for words.

When Sabo chose to leave the spot, it was only a quiet "good luck," and, "you'll do better than me," Law heard before he was alone again, perplexed.

* * *

Though Quinn had suggested Ace and Koala to do else than shopping to get through the day, Ace somehow had given in and the bunch eventually had done a shopping trip. Shopping with Quinn had been a positive surprise though; even she supposed to be the one to receive comfort, she was also the one to try everything to make their guy company feeling not too bored. Out of everything in a store, she could make a joke of and her choices for clothes were crisp and clean (she basically took both if she couldn't decide). Spending also the rest of the day together, the unusual trio then decided to stopped their hunger in some random restaurant nearby.

"Hm... the forecast said it should rain now," Koala mumbled with her cellphone in her hands, staring into the blue sky as they sat outside.

The empty plates piled on the table they were sitting at and in the back across each other as she was comparing the weather forecast and the weather, Ace and Quinn were playing rock-paper-scissors.

"I can't remember I'm that bad," Ace said, faintly vexed, after he had lost several times against Quinn, who grinned at him in joy.

"Hey Quinn," Koala said then, putting her phone down on the table while turning to her, "how do you feel?"

"I'm good!" she told with a bright smile. "I'm very good! I never had so much new clothes bought at once, this is so awesome! And I especially like those!" She lifted a shopping bag and placed it on her lap, rummaging through it until she pulled out a bunch of key chains. They were all from completely different brands in different textures, sizes and color. A penguin; a whale; something round and hard identifiable; a koala bear; an ice bear; and a little flame. She picked the koala bear and flame and handed it to them. "Here, for you!" The two took it with surprise and Quinn told, looking at Ace, "I wasn't sure what to get you, but I dunno, you remind me of fire somehow, so I bought you this. Is that okay? Do you like it? Is it weird?!"

"No, looks cool," he said, holding it up in front of his eyes. "Haven't seen you picked it up. But thanks."

"I'm trained to be a ninja over the past few months," said she as random side-information and looked back at the other key chains, "I hope the others like them too, I'm not sure about Judy's, I always call her pomegranate, but this looks more like... a special pumpkin? But there was no pomegranate. I mean, who the hell would want a pomegranate as a key chain? Except for me. Okay, well, it's not exactly for _me_ but a gift, but still _me_ who wants to buy it."

Koala smiled, happy and relieved that the day seemed to really had distracted her. "Thank you, mine's really cute. Anyway, I'll get to the restroom and we can go when I'm back."

She got up and moved inside, Quinn stared after her. "I looove Koala, she's sooo nice and pretty and sooo small!" Looking back at Ace then, she saw him rather interested in reading the menu again. "What are you doing?"

His eyes moved up, glimpsing at her while he was still facing the printed paper. "Ordering?"

"But we're leaving soon," Quinn said simple and a little puzzled.

"To-go," he added.

"Aren't you stuffed?"

"Not really?"

Silence. Quinn stared.

"Wow... Can't believe you three aren't blood-related."

"Ah, I think Luffy's the-" Shit.

To had her thinking back to Sabo was the least thing he wanted to happen right then.

 _Fuck_ , he thought when Quinn also seemed to had noticed the awkward silence.

"I'm sorry," said she, looking away from him. "I don't wanna wail around so much."

"No, it's fine," he replied, putting the menu down. "That what just a normal statement and, well, I'm just not good at comforting I guess, so..."

"You're like a cheeky version of Sabo."

"What?"

Quinn's lips formed to a straight line and she took a deep excessive breath while looking at him with round eyes. "I'm sorry, I start talking about Sabo again," said she and tried to shut her mouth.

But it was harder than wished.

"...You're like his dark-haired twin."

 _Koala, help me out,_ Ace thought and it was clearly written on his face that he felt uncomfortable with the situation, thus made her apologizing again.

"I'm sorry, I really don't wanna talk about him."

Again, Quinn tried to remain quiet about it.

Vainly.

"...Sabo had called me Marshmallow."

Ace smiled uneasy. "...Strange pet name."

"Ah, you don't have to try answering me," Quinn told, shaking her head and waving a hand, frantically. "Those are just random and inappropriate thoughts."

Glad to know that she wasn't expecting him to reply, he only kept his wry smile and nodded once to confirm that he understood. Quinn looked down, embarrassed about her behavior, and bit her lower lip, still forcing herself not to mention Sabo in any way again.

Still, vainly.

"...I had no real pet name for him."

"Quinn?" Ace said, checking out if she even realized her overdoing.

"Urgh, I'm sorry!" she said again, hitting her own head with a fist. "It's just, ahh! It's just a week now and I still can't forget about him, like, it wasn't even that serious right? Four months? But stiiiill, he was so cute... When I met him, he liked my jokes, and-and I like his jokes, and he was sooo kind and I loved the way he called me Marshmallow, and he was sooo shy sometimes and so insecure about lovey dovey, and man, his smile's so lovely and he's so strong and- God! I'm sorry..."

"Maybe you should think about... something else?"

Quinn glared back and him with half-lidded eyes. "You don't say."

Ace's lips pressed together, trying not to backfire to that sarcasm.

The situation they were in now was just weird.

Suddenly, Koala's cellphone on the table vibrated and both pair of eyes darted down to the screen. It was Sabo, calling. The two moved their eyes back at each other, leaving it for the time being without comments.

But it kept vibrating.

"Don't wanna answer it? Maybe it's important," Quinn broke their silence first.

"Nah, it's Koala's, so better not.," Ace responded.

And it kept vibrating so that the whole table was affected. Quinn's smile at him told him to answer it.

But Ace stayed stubborn. "...I won't."

"Do it."

"Nope."

"But it's annoying."

He didn't respond to it, trying to stay with his decision until the vibration annoyed him as well. "Jesus... fine."

As Ace wanted to take the device, it stopped. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

...

One minute later, Koala got out again. "Alright, we can go- huh? What's with you two?" In turn, she looked at both at the table as they sat there, only staring at each other.

Quinn looked up at her. "...Sabo called. Guess it's important."

Surprised, she checked the calling list to see how he indeed had rung her phone several times. Though she wanted to call back, she decided against it when thinking about the girl she was with, and put her cellphone away. "Sabo can wait and work too."

"But... I thought work's important," Quinn said, a little in mumble, "Sabo always said that..."

Koala furrowed her brows, feeling unwell instantly to had heard that. "I'm sorry, Quinn... I was the one who always scolded him for not doing his work. If I had known he-"

"Oh, then it's fine," Quinn cut her off right away. "This is past now anyway, I'm not supposed to care anymore, he did in order to not make you angry or so." She got up and stretched her body, obviously avoiding the eye contact with either of them and walked off with a, "so, let's go," that should sound like she was alright.

* * *

It was something after ten as Law was creeping around the dark streets. A transparent umbrella with yellow spots was protecting him from the rain that poured down in mass, echoing through the alleys of this town. Now and then a car passed him, but else only the street lamps lightened his way.

He stopped in front of Judy and Quinn's place, looking up to see if any light was burning. But the windows were dark. Law rang the bell, and he had to do a few more times after no one was answering it.

In wonder why none of them seemed to be home, he dialed Judy's number and called her. "Aren't you home?"

 _"No, why?"_ said she on the other line.

"Just got by and no one's answering the door."

 _"Really? Quinn must be up."_

"Certainly not."

 _"Lemme call her."_

After they had hung up, he sent two messages, one to Shachi and the other to Penguin, containing the same. The two were together at home, thus only one answered and told him that Quinn wasn't with them. Also Judy couldn't find out where she was since she didn't pick up the phone.

Confused, he walked the way back and hoped to run into her. When a bus or car passed him, his eyes darted immediately inside to look out for her, but he couldn't detect her in any of the vehicles. Somehow, his way led him into the bar, there where he had found her alone once already. It was loud and full, the opposite of the streets, so he didn't bother to look around but walked straight to the front.

"Quinn Heady, is she here?" asked he in the turmoil around the bar counter as Milo was serving customers.

"Quinn? No, why?" the bartender said, but Law walked off straight after hearing his negation. "Hey, you!" Milo stopped him though. "Why are you looking for her?"

"Nothing an outsider needs to know."

Law then left the bar.

Back outside, he was staring from left to right, wondering where else that girl could have been. He would try calling her himself, but her number went nowhere beyond the patient file, hence he stared clueless to his cellphone.

Going through his contact list, his eyes stopped at Dr. Dillan's number and he hesitated to call the woman after the way he had acted in front of her today. But the longer he waited, the more unsettled he got and he saw no other option then.

Dr. Dillan picked up. _"Oh dear, rarely that you call."_

She didn't sound cheerful as usual, but Law tried to ignore it and kept it short. "Is Miss Heady with you?"

 _"No, why?"_

"Do you know where she is? Have you seen her today?"

 _"No, wh-"_

He hung up.

His brows narrowed and he gritted his teeth, clicking his tongue. _Geez_ , _Peanut._

Where could she be around this time? At work? No. Her favorite cafe or sushi bar? No. Another friend? Perhaps.

Law knew no other friends of hers, the only one considerable was Koala or Ace, though he would find it weird after she and Sabo had parted. Or was she with _him?_ But why should she?

He inhaled deeply and decided to move. It was better than rooting at one spot hoping the answer would fly in by itself. So, Law wandered. He liked wandering on his own with no people in sight, but it never had felt so concerning to see the streets so empty. Around this time in the rain, no one wanted to be outside and he hoped Quinn also didn't. Whenever he saw the silhouette of a person, he hoped he had found her, but most of the time it were some random strayer. He hated the thought of her being alone then, walking through the utter darkness of the park he was walking in with no lighting at all. His eyes and ears were fully active and now and then he tried it with calling her loudly.

But no answer.

Neither Judy, Shachi or Penguin had heard from her yet; he wondered how he could get home and sleep tonight without that knowing. There was no guarantee she was with Koala or so, otherwise she surely would had picked up the damn phone. No battery? She was smart enough to borrow a phone. She would only forget to call if something had happened. She was not obliged to tell anyone where she was, but she also didn't want to worry Judy anymore.

His final conclusion was that she wanted to be alone.

As he was walking out of the park, towards a little bridge back up to the town center, he wasn't sure if he could recognize right what he saw. From afar as he looked up, something or someone was leaning against the thick railings. His face tensed and he hurried up.

Up on the bridge then, a light spot compared to the park down there, he stepped up to what he had seen before. And a load fell off his heart when his eyes confirmed it to be the girl he was looking for.

She was sitting in the rain, legs pulled close to her body with arms around, staring down to ground. What was she just thinking again?

Law stepped in front of her, automatically shielding the body on the ground with the umbrella in his hand. "Get up."

Her face moved from his feet up to his face and rushed immediately down. "What do you want?"

"You to get up."

"Leave me alone."

She was soaking wet, she must had sat here for a while now. Her feet were probably the only dry body parts on her as those brown boots protected them. Else, everything was hanging flatly, her hair, her dress and even those shopping bags next to her.

She made no effort to look at him, thus Law crouched down in front of her. "Before I go, tell me where's the sense behind sitting alone in the rain around this time?"

Quinn didn't respond but buried her face in her knees as he got closer.

"Oi. Peanut."

"I'm so sad, Doc," said she then, the tone muted in her knees.

He lay a hand on her head and wandered carefully down to her face before she lifted it herself, made him withdrawing again.

"I thought when I'm in the wet and cold, this would cool me and hide my crying," she said. No matter how the rain drowned her face, it was obvious; even a blind would at least hear it in her voice. "I'm so sick of everything, I dunno why it's so hard for me to find someone who's not using me in any way. I know I'm not a bad person, what kind of karma is this?"

Though the darkness, Law could see her wet blue eyes, and he hated the way they were looking at him. With the knowledge he had now, they seemed even sadder than before. Suddenly, he could feel her disappointment; her dead hope; and her robbed trust. But without request, she told him everything that had happened on the day Sabo and her had broken up with each other.

"Why can't I just meet someone who really likes the way I am and not what they're projecting on me? First I'm too fat to date, then I'm too pretty to be taken seriously and now being too kind was my undoing? What is this? What kind of silliness is this? This is not fair."

"No, it's not," he replied with low voice.

She furrowed her brows and her chin trembled as she tried not to cry once more. She was probably sick of crying over and over again because of any guy.

Looking away, she said, "Doc, you're in the way."

"Of the rain to pour on you?" he replied, unenthused.

"Yes."

"Don't be so pathetic and get up."

"Why are you here anyway?" asked she, "don't you have anything else to do? Work? Sleep? Sleep with women?"

Law shouldn't care about her opinion on this, but she had said it so derogatively that a wave of bad conscience hit him. He knew she never thought much of his bedroom activities with strangers, but why all of a sudden was she putting it down so much?

Or why was he really wondering that. After experience so much negative, why should she not? And why should he keep letting her think that he was still doing those things.

"I don't sleep with other women anymore." Quinn's face moved back to him, thunderstruck by his statement and he felt uncomfortable to have explain it somehow, "I don't feel like doing anymore..."

His eyes had shifted away and he didn't want to look back when he heard no response. Was he scared? Scared of a judgment? He didn't know, he wasn't sure what had made him so uncertain about the fact and her reaction.

But when he looked back, Law hadn't expected to see her smiling.

It was one of those smiles that were small and really smooth and tender; those that only happened when someone was sincerely happy about something; those that could change from a sad face really quick.

"Ah, that's nice to hear," she said, soft and sweet.

Law got up again and closed the umbrella.

"What are you doing?" asked she confused, struggling to keep her eyes open as the rain continued to hit her face.

Sitting down next to her on the wet ground, he put the umbrella aside while staring ahead. "If you don't get out of the rain, I stay here with you until you get under the umbrella and accompany me 'till you're home."

Without the umbrella, the rain was so loud, they had to raise their voices a little to communicate with each other.

"This won't happen," Quinn said, looking at him. "You said it yourself, I'm unhealthily stubborn."

His face moved to her as well. "And I'm ridiculously stubborn."

Quinn glared at him for a little moment before she turned her face back to the front, smirking slightly. "You know what? In the end, looking at that relationship from a third perspective, it's not that bad. It's actually quite cute, two meant for each other, going through lots of trouble until those life events made them realize finally; like a love story you see in movies, just not mine."

"Bullshit," Law said, also staring up-front, "stop twisting anything to positive."

"But it is like that!" she said. "Koala likes Sabo so much, it's the first thing she had told me when we met, and I know that he also-"

"Bullshit, Peanut," he repeated and looked at her again. "Why can't you be a little selfish too?"

"There's always someone exploited, that's how life works," she told and moved her face back to him. "In a capitalistic world with lots of happy faces, there's always a poor part; during war, you can't always save two fronts, you have to sacrifice the one with less or _less important_ people; and relationships? It's normal to have a second choice."

"And you wanna tell me this has nothing to do with selfishness? The capitalistic world that's built by some might-seeking people? The war you want to win, because you want not only to survive in the word but reign it? Or the person you choose to be together with, because it's making _you_ happy?" Quinn frowned by his rebuttals and he added, "wake up, Peanut. You can't talk everything that's fucked up into something nice. It's like..." He paused to find a good simile. "...Coating a terrible cake with chocolate fondant."

Quinn had nothing against it, he even had used her 'language', which example couldn't be any better. "Touché."

Staring at each other quietly then, another smile washed over her lips. She lifted a hand a stroke the wet hair off his face. "You're looking really handsome right now, you know that?" She remembered the first time she had seen him, it had blown away her mind to meet a doctor of that caliber. And he had topped it when she saw him shirtless first with all the black ink perpetuated on his body. Then his piercings and his style. But what she probably liked the most were his eyes. Dark hair, tanned skin, and then those light dots in his face. It made the picture perfect. She laughed a little and looked away. "What am I saying? You're always."

Quinn got up with her shopping bags and took the only item he had with him from the ground. "Cute umbrella, looks almost like mine," said she as she opened it, eyeing it thoroughly. "Kitschy," was the word she had looked for.

Law smirked slightly and she extended her hand to help him up, which he then took and also the umbrella. Standing next to her, both shielded now from the rain, he side-glanced her and she smiled, linking her arm into his.

The two then walked off.

It was a calm path home, neither one of them talked a lot. A long moment of silence, arm in arm under that one small umbrella, and they enjoyed it.

...

When they stopped at Quinn's place, it wasn't even raining anymore. Law closed the umbrella, which had stayed open the whole way though, and faced her as she stood in front of the entrance door.

"Thanks for finding me and taking me home," Quinn said and giggled a little. "If you catch a cold, my bad, I'll make this up for you."

"You know my demands are pretty high," said Law.

"How about a joke-free day?"

"It's been dozens of days already you haven't told one."

"I was going to tell you a joke about infinity, ...but it didn't have an ending."

He smirked amused. "Lame. As always."

"Well, but I did it," she said, "Quinn's back. You'll be assaulted with jokes from now. Or just sign the contract." He raised a brow to that affordance and she thought she need to explain it briefly, "you know, the peace treaty."

"Maybe I don't want to, because I enjoy seeing you making a fool of yourself by telling dumb jokes and thinking they're actually funny."

"They are awesome," she said. Then she let out a breath and pointed with a finger to the door. "Anyway, you wanna come up too? I can give you a towel. You can stay overnight too and hang your clothes to dry."

"No, but thanks for the third Quinnvitation."

She smiled slyly, knowing he wouldn't let himself sway. All in all his stubbornness was ridiculous, wasn't it? "If you don't want, I'll get inside now."

"Wait, before you go," said he and made her eyes wandering to the umbrella in his hand as he stretched it out to give her the item.

Confused, she looked back at him.

"This is for you," said he.

"For me?" Quinn said, pointing at herself. "Why?"

"I've broken your umbrella a few months ago-"

"You did what?!" she exclaimed in shock.

"It was an accident," he added right away, irked that she hadn't even let him finish.

"You broke my umbrella?! _When?_ Why was it still with you anyway?!"

Why was she reacting like that when she seemed to haven't even noticed it was gone?

"You had forgotten it at Shachi and Penguin's and it was raining that night, so I borrowed it and somehow- argh, who cares how! I bought you a new one. Just accept it."

He pushed the item into her hands and she startled, taking it without objection. "Uhm... thank you..."

"Anyway, see you," said he and shoved his hands into his wet pockets.

"Wait," said Quinn as he had turned to leave.

He tilted back to look at her and she stepped up to him.

Law froze.

Quinn lifted a little on her toes. She gave him a kiss on his cheek, and as she lowered back, looking up into his speechless face, his eyes met a sweet and contented smile.

"Good night, Law," said she.

And he couldn't say more than, "good night. Quinn."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Finally, after months, we made it here! Gosh, I was eager to post/write this chapter since March, but this might be the slowest burn ever haha._


	47. Naughty and guilty

**47\. Naughty and guilty**

"What do you want?"

"Four days."

"What?"

"Or three and a half. Everything is booked for next week, just return your part when you got time."

Law pinched the bridge of his nose, a long exhausting sigh leaving his mouth. Judy was carrying that sarcastic smile with her up to the hospital and gave him a last nod as final confirmation.

"I didn't agree to go," he objected, his brows deepened to his eyes.

"But Quinn needs that," said Judy. "Her holidays are over in three weeks and I feel like she's dying in this town."

He turned to leave with flat expression, not minding her presence anymore. "Not my problem."

* * *

Three weeks post-relationship breakup and Law couldn't believe that Quinn wasn't over it to this day. Slowly, it started to get tiresome to hear that she still felt hard to carry on with life so that he himself concluded, as Judy had, she would need a clear timeout with other people. According to her best friend's reports, she slept most of the time in her holidays after returning in the morning from her jogging session. Nothing else.

"Oi, Law!" Shachi called him from afar with wide hand waves as he sighted the young man with his small travel bag on his shoulder. The redhead and his other friend were waiting at a bench in front of the park Judy supposed to pick them up later.

Law walked over to them and eyed the two, Penguin sitting on the backrest and Shachi standing in front of him, with their own luggage, each of it decorated with a small cheesy key chain that depicted a whale and a penguin.

Noticing his gaze on them, Penguin smiled and told, "Quinn gave us these. Sweet of her, right?"

He surveyed them from the distance one more with rather less rapture, almost out for a snarky comment as he wondered why they had those.

"Did you just came from work?"

Law put his bag down, settling on the free spot of the bench as well with hands relaxed in his trouser pockets. "Yeah, worked only half a day."

"Ah, me too," Penguin told, "I'm looking forward to the beach, this is gonna be so fun! Like, we three are finally at the beach _together_. FINALLY."

"Hey, you got a suit with you, right?" asked Shachi.

"Yeah," said Law, "I had no choice after receiving a novel-length text message of Judy why I should bring one."

"Woah, can I see it?" Law's brows narrowed at him as he spoke his weird request, questioning it only with his face and made the redhead retracting his words by trying to put the meaning on something else. "I mean, the suit...!"

"Wow Shachi, you're turning weirder day by day," Penguin said, shaking his head as he found the lie equally weird.

"Oh maaan. I'm sorry to be interested in the life of a good friend!"

"Oh, forget the life of that friend..." Penguin responded, suddenly perplexed as his eyes fixed what was before them. "Holy shit."

They knew on hot summer days Judy loved to dress up quite... short. Still, it was eye candy whenever she appeared in extra short shorts and a tight belly shirt, walking up to them from the other side of the street with a gear that could compete to any supermodel.

"Oh my god..." Shachi said, just as stunned as his mate, "do you know what this holiday means?"

"Yeah..."

"We're gonna see Judy half-naked..."

Different to the two, Law was unimpressed by everything that woman was wearing. On hot summer days like this she was walking basically half-naked around already and he already had the pleasure to get to know her inside out on physical base.

"Oh my..." Penguin added then, "do you know what else?"

"What?" said Shachi and the two turned their faces to each other after a short moment of silence.

"Quinn," said they simultaneously, the shock-excitement in their eye growing by every millisecond of realization that they would have the chance to see their, for big of the time, full-dressed girl friend exposed.

"God I feel like a pervert," said Penguin.

"Yeah, me too."

"Let's stop here."

"Okay."

Law rolled his eyes.

Reaching the trio at the bench, Judy, with her sunglasses, nodded once at them as greet. Her eyes moved over to Law, eyeing his attendance up and down. "Good to see you here, we thought you wouldn't come."

"You already booked," he replied, somewhat irked about her statement.

"Means nothing."

"Ah, hey where's Quinn?" asked Penguin.

"She's waiting in the car," said she and tilted back to the direction she was coming from while pointing over with the hand she was holding the keys in. "Let's go, boys."

The three got up and follow her and except for Law the other two highly motivated.

"Did you rent the car or where do you got it from?" Penguin asked her.

"Borrowed it from my colleague Shayla," said she and looked while walking briefly over her shoulder at Shachi. "Oh, she's by the way the one you've slept with when we met first. I should tell you that she hates you."

"HA!" Penguin exclaimed with a loud clasp of his hands. "I knew it was something with 'Sh'!"

"Huuuh?! I did nothing wrong!" Shachi countered, ignoring his mate's random side-comment. "We only slept with each other two times, I wasn't bound to her!"

"One too much, apparently," said she amused and stared back ahead.

Reaching the car then, they saw Quinn was sitting in the passenger seat with both legs angled against her front and staring down on her cellphone.

"Oh, is she even noticing us?" asked Shachi when no reaction came from her side.

They walked to the trunk and opened it, snapping her out of a game as the car shook a little. She opened the door and stepped out, wearing an oversize and plain white T-shirt that covered everything like a wide dress. "Hellooooo people," she greeted the bunch and hugged Shachi first as he was in her reach. "Whazzuuup?"

"Hey, you noticed us pretty late," said Penguin with small titter, putting his bag like the others inside the trunk.

"Oh, yeah, I was playing this game you guys love so much, it's really addicting!"

"You mean 'One Piece'?!" Shachi asked, delighted about the thought.

"Yeah!" Quinn answered with a finger snap at him as the name returned to her. "I like it."

They started to talk about the game with Penguin joining in. Law looked at Judy, his face questioned what this was all about and the woman rolled slightly her eyes with a matching smile that told him not to pay this any more attention.

The bunch got inside the car, Law squished in the middle with Shachi and Penguin alongside. Just when they fastened their seat belts, Quinn looked at the backseats with her Polaroid camera and took a photo.

"Hey!" Shachi sneered a little. "I wasn't prepared!"

"You took that with you?" Law commented as if he would murder her any moment, unexcited about that old device to be a company.

She leaned back into her seat and grabbed the picture that came out. "Yap! If we're on holidays, why not taking some?"

"Nooo, I tend to look crappy on instant pictures," Shachi said. "How many films have you with you?"

"Don't worry, she wasted a few just on the way here," said Judy and turned on the engine after setting the mirrors one more.

"A few? Those were only two," Quinn responded with half-lidded eyes, not knowing why Judy always tried to talk her actions down. "Do you know how expensive those films are, I don't wanna waste them."

"Wow Judy, she just called your beauty a waste," Shachi teased with a wide grin, leaning his head to the driver's seat.

Judy pushed his head off with her palm against his face while executing the rest for the ride casually. "I hate it when people crowd me while I'm driving."

"Ah look! Law looks so funny on this," Quinn said out loud when the picture had developed and caused instant silence in the car with glances on her she noticed rather late. Looking at each of their shocked faces, except for Law's who was staring elsewhere, disinterested, she said, "what?"

"You... just called him - _not_ 'Trafalgar'?!" Penguin was first to word their reaction.

"Oh, uhm, I dunno," Quinn said, "started a week ago or so. Hey, that rhymes."

From both side where Law was sitting, he felt the speechless gazes of his companions rooting on him, which he ignored and left doing by staring with flat expression straight forward.

"What just happened?" Shachi asked, still slightly in disbelief.

"Geez, it's just a name." They turned their faces to Judy as she was driving, intimidated by her cold and annoyed tone. "His _name's_ 'Law' and we all call him like that. As if it's anything special that she switched."

Quinn also stared at her from the side, noticing how stern her face was that made even _her_ nervous. "Yeah! I mean, for most of the time I'll still call him 'Doc' or 'Doctor'!" she claimed and turned around quickly to Law. "Right, Doctor?"

"Whatever," said he, still not caring a little about the fuss so that she moved back and pressed her stiff head against the seat, her mouth forming to a straight line.

And so the bunch stayed quiet for a while with only the sound of the radio in the background, turning from news to music and backwards.

Not even ten minutes passed though and the car was forced to stop in line with a few other drivers strung together, bystanders gathering around as well. Their eyes moved to the windshield in wonder what their impediment was, only to see blue lights of several sirens at the corner of a street.

"Looks like an accident," Judy said through a tired sigh, her hands falling from the wheel when she saw that neither right nor left would grant them exit.

"That's the second big disaster to happen here," Shachi said. "I always avoid this corner."

Not understanding what he meant, Quinn tilted a little to look at him. "What do you mean? What's with this corner?"

"You don't know this?" Penguin said as if her cluelessness was abnormal. "Ah, I sometimes forget you're actually not from here."

"There's a superstition that three spots in this town are cursed," Shachi told, gaining Quinn's proper attention that made her turn around. "One is that filthy toilet in the city park, you know which I mean?"

"Eww," Quinn said and contorted her face to disgust, "I'm not surprise that bad things happen there."

"No, that's the funny thing, this is the lucky spot."

"Yeah, I swear, I once went there about nine years ago and found ten bucks on the ground," Penguin told, still baffled from the day.

"Sure it wasn't just coincidence?" Quinn asked. "And why do you went there anyway?"

"It was coincidence that _I was there._ I didn't use it though, I was just passing it."

"Anyway," Shachi continued, leaning a little forward to gain her attention back, "then there's the fourth checkout at the Big Refrigerator."

"Ohh, you call it like that too?" Quinn said with sparkling face, "Judy hate it when I call the giant supermarket like that, though I thought it's a local thing."

"Yeah, Judy's weird," he said swiftly as semi-important comment, making her snark at him while he carried on with the telling, "you know the fourth checkout's never open, right? It's said that when you use it, you'll meet the love of your life there."

"Ehhh, I heard they shut it down after some instruction work because they couldn't wire it anymore."

"See?! The universe wanted it so."

"Noo, I heard they've done a mistake and now it's cheaper to leave it their instead of reconstructing or dismantling the checkout."

"Yeah! Because _the universe_ made them doing the mistake!"

"But this makes no sense. How many of those people who had used that checkout before had found their love of their life? What about those who already had? What if they were married, did it mean they divorced to get to their new love or lead an unfulfilled relationship then?"

"Quinn!" Shachi ranted almost frustrated, "I just impart you what the legend says!"

"Ohh-kay," she responded, accepting it straight away.

"Sooo! Aaanyway!" He exhaled long when she allowed him to move on with the telling. "Number three would be this corner at the cash point, only bad things happen here."

"Like this accident?"

"Ah, it doesn't have to be that big," Penguin said, being more casual with the legends at his motivated mate was. "Law had been there once and a dog peed on him."

Silence.

Suddenly, the snort of Quinn and Judy sounded, made Law staring with unimpressed eyes at the girl who was grinning at him.

"You got peed on by a dog?" Quinn questioned in stifle laughter, hoping that it was true.

"Yeah," he answered, simple, but not amused.

"On your pants or what?"

"On my shoes, just as some people vomit on it."

"What, someone vomited on your shoes?" now Penguin asked with a grin.

"Yeah," Law approved with his gaze pointing at Quinn, the voice tensed, " _someone_."

Quinn's eyes narrowed to little slits and her lips made the motions for 'touché'. Trying to defend herself then, she put on a wide smile, saying, "heeey, but since he's a doctor, it's totaaally normal to get on some human moist, nothing worth to talk about."

"Yeah, I just hope it wasn't just toooo viscous," Penguin joked, laughing. "Ew."

"It was okay," Law said.

She blushed in embarrassment, shifting her eyes over to Judy who only sat there with a gloating smirk while re-doing her lipstick. Then Quinn moved her eyes back to the guys, shoving her lower lip out a little only to receive a quick smirk from Law too, which no one seemed to had noticed but her.

"AAANYWAY!" Shachi started again, getting back his friends' attention. "The legend also says that if a misfortune happened to you once, it's unlikely that something will happen again."

"Oh Shachi, I'm so fascinated about your belief in this crap," Quinn said calmly.

"I don't...!" he claimed, turning slightly red. "I'm just transmitting!"

"This totally makes no sense too, like, how many people pass this corner per day, and I do too once in a while and-"

"It's alright, we get it! You don't believe in supernaturals," he snapped, falling back to his seat in huff.

Judy giggled at his act. "Geez, I didn't know we have a new Quinn."

"I'm not _a new Quinn!_ "

"What's that supposed to mean anyway?!" Quinn railed and made her best friend continue to laugh.

"We won't get anywhere today, right?" Law said to quit their riot, staring up-front to the ambulance and police cars that still hadn't moved.

"Looks so," Penguin said and leaned his head against the window. "We should've gotten something to eat before..."

"Yeah Judy, you should've gotten into this drive-in from before," came as mocking tone from Shachi's mouth as he was still huffy about her previous comment.

"Seriously?" she answered coldly, "no one had told me and as a driver it's not my job to remind you of those."

"You act like we're on the highway," Law said.

Quinn looked at Law with both brows up. "What if one of us gets out and the way's free again?"

"Yeah, because we'll totally leave you behind."

"Meehh."

Tired of the air inside the car and what was hovering with it, Shachi opened the door and let a heat wave in. The group felt it instantly on their skin as it was so thick that it could be an actual person touching them.

"Gosh, close the door!" Penguin complained, shook that the temperature had raised that fast in short time.

"I'm getting something to eat now," said Shachi. "Saw a fast food line before we turned in here."

"Oh, get me a fishburger if you can!"

"Anyone else?" he asked, looking into the round, but they negated and so he left the car and closed the door.

Their eyes went after him as he crossed the street. Looking over the scenery it seemed like it would take a while until someone could make the way free as even the car passengers at the front got out their cars and watched.

"Say, does Shachi have his period or why's he so sensitive today?" Judy asked and settled her in a way to face the others a little easier too.

Penguin shrugged his shoulders, looking briefly to the direction the redhead had disappeared. "Don't know, he wasn't like this when we were still outside."

"Wow, he must be really mad that I called him 'a new Quinn'."

"Heeey!" Quinn said with grumpy face. "What's wrong with being me?"

"I'm just kidding gurl," said Judy, "you're just the most sensitive among us."

"What's so bad about being sensitive?"

"Nothing, just saying."

Penguin laughed a little and put his arm around Law's shoulder, leaning closer to him while keeping his eyes forward. "And here we have the complete opposite. His only emotions: annoyance and gloat. He's the cool one."

Quinn looked into Law's face with flat expression. "This actually sounds sad."

"Naaah, it suits him," Penguin said, pulling the cross-armed guy closer to him, who changed nothing in his countenance.

"Because he's a stone-cold and evil surgeon who in reality is an assassin," said she, narrowing her eyes again to watch him through slits with mock-suspicion. "Everything's just disguise."

"Yeah and if, it suits, doesn't it?" Penguin joked. He gestured his hand to her. "I mean, your personality suits your job too, and my personality mine such as Shachi's."

"What's the personality of a salesman and a car mechanic?"

"We..." he paused to find an answer and only came up with, "like our...?"

After staring at him for a bit with blank eyes, she chose to move the stare over to Law, back with the suspicion and pointed with two fingers from her eyes to his and back. "I'm watching you."

Talking about jobs, Penguin let go of his friend and looked at the backside of Judy's head when she sat there bored, staring like a self-loving woman the whole time into the small mirror in the visor. "Hey, by the way, what do you do for living again, Judy? Wasn't it something like a 'paid stalker'?"

Quinn lowered from her knees back down to her butt, shifting her face slightly over to Judy who sat there rather displeased that he asked. That gaze wandered from the mirror to her so that Quinn startled a little and moved only her mouth corners up, feeling uncomfortable too.

"Yeah, told you I just have a simple office job," Judy said then. "It's a marketing company and I'm on the computer and find information about the competitive. Nothing special."

"Oh, I see," Penguin said. "This sounds hella boring, I hope your payment's good at least."

She clenched her jaw, biting her lower lip like he was in any kind offensive. "It's okay. Shitty boss, shitty work hours, normal."

"Why don't you look for a new one then?" asked he and showed serious confusion why she would keep it. "You've studied, right? What was your major?"

"Yeah, I have..."

Noticing that this went into a direction her friend couldn't stand, Quinn tried to distract from the topic by lowering the suspense with a random comment. "Heeey, Doctor, you as a head doctor can surely get her a new job, maybe as a nurse trainee or so, riiight?"

"What?" he responded to her question that seemed suspiciously weird. "I'm a head doctor and not the head of the hospital."

"Ohhh, so you're not that master of everything after all, huuuh?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Hey, wanna hear a joke...?!"

"Wha-"

"I heard a guy got fired from the calendar factory only because he took a day off."

"Oh! That was actually funny!" Penguin commented and Quinn looked at him with big eyes, almost scary.

"Right?! I think so too!"

Exasperated by their noise, Law leaned his head back and closed his eyes with a quiet low sigh.

Quinn calmed down and looked at him, only to get her lips down by the look. "Aren't you feeling well?"

"I got a headache."

She covered instantly her mouth with her fingers and rushed back on her butt, whispering, "oh, I'm sorryyy."

To spare him any more pain, they decided to remain silent. Shachi later came back from his trip while to their front the people had started to clean the way, making them all watching patiently. It took about an hour until they let the cars pass again. Their destination was, however, several hours away and Judy already calculated traffic jams on the way so that it became unlikely that they would have power and time for the beach when they arrive.

Driving the car for quiet three hours then with Shachi and Penguin fallen asleep and Law probably napping in the back as well, Judy looked out for a roadhouse to tank up and to use the restroom.

Quinn turned her head to their behind again, eyeing the tired bunch. Especially Law fell into her eyes since it was a rare occasion to see his face resting. "Hm... Traffff...Law always looks so cute when he sleeps. Much friendlier than awake."

"Are you really forcing yourself now to call him 'Law'?"

"Well, yeah. Since we're friends now, I think?"

"Why did you call him by his last name the whole time in the first place?"

"Uhm... I dunno. I didn't like him so much back then and somehow it just happened because he was my doctor and yeah... Dr. Trafalgar, you know?" Quinn looked out of the window, letting the scenery swiping in front of her eyes without focusing anything particular. "He had said we aren't friends, so I felt like keeping this up. But now, I think he's actually a decent guy and to me a good friend."

"Do you like him?"

Quinn moved her head back to her with mouth opened faintly as the question took her by surprise. Her cheeks turned a little pink as she found it embarrassing and she covered her face with a divert smile. "What? What are you talking?"

"I'm just wondering because you two seem to get along very well," Judy said while detecting something looking like a roadhouse from afar finally.

"I mean, I do get along with him," Quinn told, "and I really like him, but more as a friend."

When Judy didn't respond, Quinn tried to fill the silence with a small giggle. "Hey, you get along with him now as well, don't you? Like you're texting each other easily and so, I mean, I don't even have his number." Her brows furrowed when Judy's face still stayed stern after those words. "Hey, I've told you back then... Between me and him-"

Stopping then when Judy put her index finger to her lips to signalize her silence, Quinn understood that they couldn't be careful enough if any of those at the back were still awake, or at least part of their senses to actually listen to their conversation (okay, Shachi was snoring, he was definitely gone). Leaning back and staring ahead then, Quinn chose to keep quiet for the rest of the way until they would stop.

It seemed like Judy still hadn't told Law that she somehow liked him and judging by her behavior, she still wouldn't tell him in near future. Quinn felt bad for her and wanted her not to get any jealous for things that wouldn't transpire anyway. Yes, she found Law physically attractive and she really liked spending time with him, but that meant nothing. "Besides..." she cracked the silence, "I just broke up with Sabo, I don't need any other guy..."

Judy narrowed her brows as she understood what she had caused again even though the whole purpose of this holiday was to distract her from that very thought. "I'm sorry, Quinn... I didn't wanna trigger you."

"Nah, its fine..." Quinn mumbled and slipped off her shoes to lift her legs and pull them closer to her body under the big T-shirt she just put over. "Just wanted to tell you I'm done with relationships for now."

Judy's eyes wandered on-off to her and she felt even more bad now by seeing Quinn's calm face looked rather sad than disinterested. No, she was genuinely defeated in her look. It was different to the first time she had broken up with someone and saying the same, much more decisive, hence Judy couldn't say nothing. "Hey, I survived almost 26 years without a guy by my side. Life's still fun without one, so I can save my true affection for the right one. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a year, maybe in 20 and plus."

Knowing that she was trying to comfort her, Quinn smiled at her small laugh. "True."

Five minutes later, they arrived at the roadhouse, which had been farther than expected since she had to ride around a lot until an exit ramp had appeared. Stopping the car then in front of the fuel dispenser, Shachi and Penguin opened their eyes too.

The redhead stretched and yawned while saying, "toilet break."

Both got out as well, so that only Quinn and napping Law stayed inside. Quinn rolled the car window down and leaned out to Judy. "Can you get me ice cream when you get inside to pay?"

"Sure," Judy replied. "I think I gonna buy something to eat anyway, you want too?"

"No, no, thank you."

She sat back down and checked with a brief look if Law was still asleep. Seeing no move from his side, Quinn turned and put her phone out to get back to the game she had played today. She must confess that it all only served as something to keep Sabo positive in her mind. The game reminded her of Luffy and she knew what good and kindhearted sides he had when it came to his little brother and other people.

"The Quinnfamous? Really?"

She startled and turned her head around, almost bumping into Law's face as he watched her game over the shoulder. Putting the device down then, Quinn moved around completely to face him better. "Yeah, if I'm a pirate I have to be known for being a fearful one."

"Sure your ship shouldn't be named The Quinnocence? Or better, the Quinnanity?"

"Very funny," said she. "What would be the name of your ship? The Lawrrogance?"

"The Polar Tang. And it would be a submarine in form of a tang."

Quinn narrowed her brows and pursed her lips. "Ouh man, this sounds so cute, I can't even insult it."

Leaning back relaxed, he closed his eyes again. "Credits goes to Shachi and Penguin."

"Woah, and you just adopt it."

"Only because I knew you wouldn't backfire."

She smiled and stood up in the car with only socks on, climbing between the gap of the front seats over to the back until she fell down next to Law, who opened an eye again to glimpse at her. She smiled at him with close lips, only staring. Trying not to care though, his eye closed again.

"Do you feel better?" asked she and he couldn't help but opened both again to look at her, still seeing her staring.

"What do you want?"

"I just wanna know if you feel better after napping," said she and pointed at her head then, "I mean, you said you had a headache, right?"

He stretched his neck a little with a quiet exhalation, rubbing his forehead a bit. "It's fine."

"Oh, that's good to hear. I actually wanted to nap too, but riding shotgun means you gotta follow the unwritten rule of staying awake."

Law wasn't really talkative today, she noticed that really quick when he responded less to nothing to whatever she said. Pursing her lips then a little once more, she looked away and leaned her head against the window.

"You gonna stay here in the back?" asked he.

"Nope, only as long as the others are gone."

Pulling her legs back to her body inside the giant shirt, she relaxed like a stone and started to hum quietly.

Law didn't comment on it first, but couldn't ignore her long enough so that his eyes got back to her. He eyed the big white shirt enclosing her entire body, how she stretched the fabric with her knees so that a gap around her neck showed and allowed his view to enter. Forcing his eyes away as he saw part of her cleavage with the fabric of her bikini, he felt like a pervert for that one glance. To look at a woman who wanted to be seen and one he knew she didn't was strangely different. Maybe it was just him who couldn't cope with her mental innocence yet.

Before, it was easy to survey her and having the thought to bed her, not even in a proper bed but anywhere; however, since he knew her and what she had been through better, Law felt guilty even for the tiniest naughty thought. And he _had_ them.

"From normal to the kinkiest shit," Penguin's voice from outside startled him away from his thoughts. The guy opened the door on his side, still talking to his mate. "That one's nasty, it's too much for me to even imagine."

Standing in front of the car door across, Shachi looked inside and pointed to Quinn's head who was still leaning against the window, not moving. "Hey, what is she doing on my seat?"

Law and Penguin looked at her and saw her sitting there with closed eyes, her legs already drawn down a bit after her muscles had given in.

"Hey, Quinn," Penguin called her with a loud whisper, but added as she didn't respond, "guess she fell asleep."

Realizing then that the front seat was free then, Penguin and Shachi's eyes grew bigger and they faced each other with the same intention where only one could win.

"Shotgun!" Shachi shouted first and ran to the front, Penguin's eyes rolling with a disappointed sigh.

"Ah, I don't care, I feel good in the back next to my _best friend!_ "

"Hey! If I'm not your best friend, then Law is _my_ best friend!"

"Oh, and why do you wanna sit upfront?"

"Uhh, because there's a girl sleeping on my seat and I'm gentleman enough not to wake her up?" The redhead opened the door and took place inside. "And just because your best friend's sitting in the back, doesn't mean you have to do too."

"Alright!" Penguin pulled out his phone and enclosed Law's neck again with his arm to pull him closer. "Selfie-time!"

"What the fuck?" Law grumbled.

"Oh shut up, Penguin, I'm gonna make selfies with Judy here."

"Only that Judy will slap your face if you touch her like that." Putting the device down then after he had snapped two pictures, he sank into his seat. "Okay, let's stop here, this is stupid."

"Yeah a bit."

Judy then came back as well with two paper bags of fast food, placing the coke in the cup holder behind the gear shift. She looked to her side, unexpectedly seeing Shachi . "What? You're not Quinn."

"Ah, she's on the back and sleeps."

Judy turned around, slightly in displeasure when she saw that. "What, seriously? And she told me to get her ice cream. Anyone want it before it melts?" Moving her half-lidded eyes over to Law then while Shachi took the offer, she asked, "what was she doing there?"

"Don't ask me," Law answered straight and simple in a way that she couldn't question him more and chose to carry on with the ride.

"Hey, did you get something for me as well?" asked the guy next to her and she lay the paper bags immediately on his lap to free herself for the ride. "Yeah-yeah, except for the cheeseburger, pick whatever you want."

"Great!" he exclaimed his joy and started to rummage her purchase with one hand after fastening his seat belt. Arranging his nuggets then for later when he would finish the ice cream, Judy started to drive and he handed the bags over to Penguin. "Uhm, where were we again?"

Penguin took the bag. "Ah, yeah, don't know my coworker had enjoyed it."

"What are you guys talking about?" Judy asked.

"Ah, my coworker had been to an exhibition and it was kinda weird," Penguin told, picking from the fries, "the artist expresses his sexual desires and fetishes and some of them are quite nasty."

"What?" Judy said, raising a brow. "How should he express them? With dummies or what?"

"Yeah, there were some."

"That was some BDSM thing with neon-lights and colored moisture," said Shachi. "As if you'd be high during sex."

"Yeah, for example, he likes to put different colored ice cube in a girl to see them melt inside her in different color," Shachi told, stretching the sentence to emphasize his opinion on it only through his tone.

"Well, that's nasty," Judy commented, sort of awed to it but neutral in her opinion.

"He even likes to choke women during sex, like, who the hell chokes his sex partner outside of porn?" Penguin asked rhetorically with the intention to ridicule, causing a brief silence in the car before he heard some small giggle.

"So, you're the loving one?" Judy said, made him turning pink.

"What? Of course I'm the loving one! Why should I wanna hurt my girlfriend?" he defended himself, chiding somewhat.

"And what if your girl likes it a little more _rough_ ," Shachi asked, grinning widely.

"What if your girl likes to be dominated?"

When the redhead gritted his teeth then, Judy smirked amused, "so we have a true lover and a little spoon here?"

"Hey...!" Shachi turned red as well. "What's so bad about not being the dominating one?! And what are you, huh?!"

She threw him a wink and he kept his gritted teeth, backing off with a red face and no word effable about that silent response.

Law felt Quinn moved so that he looked over to her, only to see her face concerned as she probably perceived the noise in the car during her sleep.

"Say, do you like to be choked too?" Penguin asked with slitted eyes, still dubious about the thought that people actually do stuff like that in real life.

"You _really_ ask me that?" Judy answered, scary enough that he felt embarrassed to had done.

As they started to discuss more fetishes, the normal and common, Law kept quiet and neither mind the hassle next to him nor the wiggling sleeping girl. It probably would be better if she kept sleeping instead of listening to this topic her innocent mind wasn't made for. Every few minutes, she re-positioned and her sleep seemed restless so that she was even aware when her shirt slid up too high as she pulled it down with a hand while keeping her eyes closed.

Then Quinn leaned her head against Law's shoulder.

Unsure, he looked down at it and then back in the mass who seemed to noticed nothing. The longer she was leaning on him, the more he felt that her head was getting heavier, hence her sleep getting deeper. He decided to do nothing about it and let her sleep; but having her close to him, the first thing he noticed was that she smelled different.

The marshmallow scent was gone.

"Whaat?! I wouldn't-"

"Oi." It turned silent quickly when Law's voice popped up between them and except for Judy, they turned their eyes at him. "You're too loud."

"Oh, we're sorry," Penguin apologized right away as the look on Quinn made them realize their tune had been a bit too much. That she was sleeping against his shoulder was nothing they would make a fuss about since they knew Quinn was just the type to be more on skinship with her friends.

Judy, who caught that from the rear-view mirror, became the only one who had to comment on it in any way. "Oh, Quinn's still sleeping?"

"Would you expect her to stay silent during the topic you have?" Law asked her back, putting a smirk on her face. It was true that she probably would have complained or something alike.

"Law, you're the dominating type," she stated then, already as simple fact before Shachi and Penguin could even digest the information. Whatever she was trying now, he handled it cool and only stared ahead to her with folded arms, saying nothing.

Judy didn't hold back.

"Imagine you would sleep with Quinn."

Shachi and Penguin darted their shock at her with one saying, "huuuh, Judy?! Why do you say something like that, Quinn wouldn't like it!"

But it didn't matter to her what they said since she was locked into this conversation where only Law had real entry. "Do you think this is possible?"

"Is there anything you're aiming at, or why are you asking something like this?" said he, remaining nonchalant.

"It's just hypothetical," she claimed. "I mean, choking; biting; the rough way; and all the other kinky stuff I'm not gonna mention now; would that be possible with someone as her?"

While Shachi and Penguin had shut their comments with jaw-slacked silence as if it was so unexpected what kind of sex their friend preferred, Law knew that she just wanted to prove him again that his feelings for Quinn were pure time waste as sooner or later it would fail in bed. Not that he chose to have them, but thinking about her provocation, he smirked slightly. "I think it's a little too much for our company here to hear the name 'Quinn'. What about saying it's some innocent side-chick?"

"Well, then some innocent side-chick," Judy agreed, challenged. "But with sexual trauma."

"Trauma in which content?"

"Uhm, pervert guy who had been trying all kinda stuff on that innocent side-chick?"

The suspense between them intensified so that Shachi and Penguin almost held their breaths in agitation, moving their eyes in turn from him to her.

"All kinda stuff? Really?" said Law, still sounding abnormally serene where they probably would have tripped already with faces like tomatoes.

"Yeah, really" Judy confirmed again, " _all kinda stuff._ "

Cautiously, Shachi lifted a finger to ask a question. "Uhh... does all kinda stuff mean, only what he has or also other things-"

Penguin hushed him with angry face, not wanting anything to interfere in this really weird battle with an energy like cowboys battled. In that case, a cowboy and a cowgirl.

Law's smirk didn't falter and he seemed to be just too amused about the situation. "Do I think it's possible," he repeated, followed by a small pause. "I certainly would..."

The two guys raised their excitement with deep inhalations as his answer was about to follow.

"Teach her my way."

The car stood in silence.

Defeated in one point, Judy still didn't want to give him that victory and she kept her smirk, though it was like a rock had fallen into its wall.

"But honestly, Judy..." said he then and her brows lowered, trying to be prepared for anything. Law's smirk had vanished, changed back to the lazy look. "Who said I can't do the other way?"

"Oh, can you?"

* * *

"Hey, Quinn. Quinn. Wake up."

Lying on the backseat all alone, Quinn opened her eyes to see her friends standing outside of the car, waiting for her to get out as well. Behind them she could read the word 'Hotel', so she seated up and rubbed her eyes while bearing the pain in her neck. The last thing she remembered was that she had climbed to the backseat, accompanying Law and his headache.

"Quinn?" Shachi said again.

"Yeah, I'm coming...," she grumbled a little and pushed herself out, landing with both feet on the asphalt. Though the sun was down, it was still quite warm and she smelled the salty air roaming through the streets, let her know that they finally had arrived at the seaside.

"Here, your luggage," said Penguin and handed over her bag.

Quinn took it and thanked him, following the group inside for the check-in while she eyed the environment they were in now. The beach shouldn't be far from the hotel, something about ten minutes walk Judy had said. From where she stood, she could see a small part of the skyscrapers in the city center, the many tower lights and signboards flashing the night sky. Even though the part of this city they had chosen to stay was compared to it extremely dark and calm, the streets were so much bigger than the one in their hometown. It wasn't a strange feeling though, she felt somehow familiar with the surroundings since it reminded her of the city she had been raised.

"Peanut," Law said and she turned her head, noticing that she had stopped to walk while everyone but them were already inside.

"Uhm, sorry," said she and passed him.

Still staying in place, Law's face followed her quietly as he noticed that she seemed a little off with her thoughts. Then he walked in too.

After receiving the keys and room numbers, the bunch took the elevator up and ended in a carpeted hallway. The light was dimmed with lamps on the ceiling, and left and right were the different rooms.

"Ohhh, this is gonna be so fun!" Shachi said, curling his hands to fists in his excitement. "First the beach tomorrow, then we're gonna do a barbecue, then the next day we do sightseeing and in the evening we gonna visit the casino!"

"Not only just any casino, but the greatest in this area," Penguin said, also excited about the weekend. "I packed my most expensive suit, this will be so much fuuun!"

"You only have one," Shachi said.

"And that one was expensive."

"I got my most expensive- _looking_ suit!"

"Hey, don't forget," Judy noted, "we only have one chance in there, so act well." Stopping in front of a door then, she compared the key number with the number framed on the wood. "Oh, this is mine and Quinn's. So, guess we gonna see you tomorrow."

"Alright, good night you two."

Quinn gave them a peace sign as they kept walking, smiling at them. "Good night."

The room was small and had beside a queen size bed the basic furniture. Nothing special and the price-performance ratio right. The two young woman put down their bags and didn't do much than a quick surveying before they got bed-ready.

Lying together in the bed when the light was off, it was quiet first during their attempts to sleep. Quinn, however, couldn't while she was lying on her back, staring up. It was so quiet, not even their breathing was hearable so that her swallow appeared almost loud before she said, "Judy?"

"Hm?" the brunette mumbled, lying on the side with the face away from her.

"Are you mad at me?"

"Why should I?"

"For getting along with him somehow."

Judy's eyes opened slowly as Quinn brought back this topic and her forehead tensed a little.

"You didn't like it when I called him 'Law', right?" Quinn reported her observation from today. "Should I stay with 'Trafalgar'?" When she didn't answer, her head tilted to her and she looked at the big brown curls in the dark. "I really don't want you to be mad at me."

Hearing it in Quinn's tone, Judy knew how serious she was with the things she said because it wasn't the childish whiny way she often heard when they were talking to each other about issues between them. She sounded like this was really concerning her, like she had been thinking about it the whole time without much rest. So Judy breathed in sharply and let out the air as a tired sigh. "I'm just a little jealous. You don't have to worry."

Quinn's brows furrowed when she thought about how much it actually had to have bothered her to even admit her jealousy so freely. It was untypical for her. "Why are you jealous?"

"Because... I don't know. It's nothing abnormal to be little jealous when seeing the guy you're attracted to interacting with other girls."

"You're right... by the way, he told me he doesn't sleep around anymore."

Judy narrowed her brows. "When had he told you?"

Feeling insecure, Quinn grabbed the edge of the blanket and pulled it a little higher to her chest. "Two weeks ago. But we only got into this topic because I was randomly badmouthing him for doing." It was unsettling whenever she said something and Judy needed a little longer to answer, thus she would fill out the silence first. "Judy..."

"Hm?"

"I kissed him on the cheek, I'm sorry..." Another silence stretched out after her statement and Quinn tightened the blanket between her fists, staring at Judy while trying not to cry. "Judy..."

Judy pushed her torso a little up and turned over to her. "Quinn, it's fine. This is just you."

Quinn bit her lower lip, still glaring into the shadow Judy's face were hiding behind.

"Are you crying?"

"...No?"

"Stop it."

"I don't."

"How old are you? Five?" She managed a little laugh from Quinn's side so that she lay down on her back in relief, sighing out loudly and in mock-annoyance. "Geez, you're kissing everyone of your friends on the cheek. Everything you do with him, you'd do with the other two idiots too, isn't it?"

Quinn giggled a bit, nodding. "You're mean, they aren't idiots."

"Oh, all three of them are."

"Bet they say the same about us," Quinn said and deepened her voice then to make an impression of their male friends, but somehow ended-up like some aggressive rapper, "a-yo, our friends with boobs are idiots."

"Good for them," Judy responded and Quinn smiled again. "But no, seriously. It's not like we're a couple, so do whatever you want. Hugging or those smooches on his cheek, I don't care. Just be you." Quinn budged up and hugged her, making her flinch. "Gosh, what are you doing?!"

"So, first I didn't give him a smooch, but a normal kiss like this," said she and demonstrate it on her own face.

"Gosh, Quinn...!"

"Second, remember that I promised you nothing will be between me and him? He thinks I'm a goofy child anyway, and I that he's a sinister dude with a, for my taste, too healthy sex-drive."

"What if he likes goofy?"

"Lol!"

"And what's with you saying 'lol' the whole time nowadays?"

"I dunno, hehe."

* * *

Law never wanted to be involved with romantic feelings and even if, he never had planned to date anyone to end up fully committed to that someone. But still, it robbed his sleep when the one thought repeated in his mind since he had heard it on their way into this city.

Quinn friend zoned him.

He had this embarrassing type of happiness as she had told Judy in the car she liked him, and then this embarrassed moment of disappointment when she remarked it was completely platonic.

Having feelings for someone was confusing and definitely a bitch. Nothing worked in a clear system, everything worked against his mind and he could never calculate where it would go next.

Deprived from his sleep, he dressed again and left the hotel while his companions had already been dead asleep. Law thought he could make a walk to the beach, which was well-signposted, thus easy to find. The streets in the area weren't really occupied at that time and only a few kiosks, bars and a small cinema had open. Street lamps lightened his way and now and then a car passed. Above in the dark sky was an airship with advertisement of some casino of the center.

Anyway, the closer he came to the seaside, the more the temperatures sank, but it wasn't anything that would affect his clothing since it stayed pleasant all the time. The lights disappeared when he reached the beach and it was too dark to even see what was before his feet. Only a light shimmer from the moon and stars in the sky and the heavy lighting from the city center reflected somewhat on the water surface and made the boundary between water and sand visible.

He walked down to it, his eyes trying to adjust to the darkness. Standing in the sand and staring ahead to the horizon, he absorbed the sea air and the sound of the waves when the water clasped together.

Then he looked a little to the right and thought he couldn't believe his eyes again. Within the dark shroud sat a white spot in the sand, not moving. He needed no second thought to know what it was, or better say _who_.

Walked up, Law crouched behind, getting his lips closer to speak with low voice, "I take you with me."

Recognizing his voice instantly, Quinn chuckled without moving her face away. "Yeah, you _did_ startle me. But scaring? Nopes."

Law smirked a little and moved next to her. "Not impossible though that any stranger with similar voice could approach you from behind like that."

Smiling, she looked at him, still not in fear. "I don't know, the beach seems very lonely now."

"That's the point," he said, eyeing her a little up and down, seeing hardly something, but enough to confirm the big white shirt from today. "What brings you here?"

"What makes you so curious?" Quinn asked back with a teasing grin.

"If this is an attempt to rub my human sides on my face, it's unnecessary," said he, unaffected by her tease, "I know I got them and that there's nothing strange about asking what you're doing alone at the beach deep in the night."

Quinn stretched out her limbs and fell on her back. "Weeell, I wasn't tired, probably because of my long nap in the car."

"And that's why you got out here?"

With a jerk, she straightened back on her butt. "Why not? It's not cold and the sound of the waves are really soothing. What about you? Guess the same, huh?"

Law didn't reply to her statement but only looked at her quietly as she sat there with her arms folded on her knees and the chin nestled on it while she was staring ahead. He knew her to say that she wasn't just looking for a place to be alone while being alright. Whenever he found her like that, she always had something on her mind that she would tell.

Just like in this moment. "Judy did this all to distract me from the breakup. And I think it's really sweet of her because she's right. I do need some time outside of town with friends who better have less to nothing to do with Sabo. But I also think, I could have some minutes alone outside of town."

"That's why you're not sending me away?"

Rolling her eyes with a little snicker, she turned her head back at him. "Go away."

"So that I can be the one again to find you in case anything happens?"

"Oh dude, this just happened once."

"With your habit in seeking places at night alone, maybe not any longer."

"Funny though that the kidnapping didn't happen at night."

He chuckled before they stood in silence again, both listening quietly to the waves that floated up the coast. She was right, the sound was really soothing and probably also in his need.

"Have you ever been to the seaside before?" asked she then, still staring ahead somewhat dreamily.

"Yeah," Law said. "When I was younger."

"With your family?"

Law's brows tensed a little, lowering to his eyes. "Acquaintances."

"I'm sorry." Surprised about the apology, he looked at her and she explained, "I know you don't like talking about your private life and past. So, I'm sorry for asking."

"Have you been to the seaside before?" asked he then to get away from the topic, because he didn't want it to be uncomfortable for both.

"Nope," Quinn answered. "Never had the money, opportunity or possibility for holidays."

"Living in a megacity must be expensive and stressful."

"Yeah, kinda."

She kept silence for a while and having Law by her side wouldn't make it any better, since he wasn't the one among them to start or lead a conversation. So they just keep listening to the waves, remaining quiet next to each other. Now and then a small breeze stroke over their faces, but else even the wind was calm and the temperatures continual.

Law had no clue yet what the color of the beach was, but he was sure it was the typical white beach as the sand felt really soft and fine when he sat on it with grabbing a small hand full. Between his fingers and from his palms, the pieces dissolved, falling back to where he had grabbed it from.

"You know, when my mother died, my father had no custody because he was in prison shortly afterwards," Quinn started to tell out of the blue, made him looking back at her. She was still staring to the dark horizon, revising her life. "I was put into an orphanage first and stayed there for a few years in hope some family would adopt me. Or well..." She laughed a little. "Actually I was hoping my mother would come back; guess I was too young to realize she was gone forever, even after the funeral."

"Had you no other family?"

"I told you my mother was a drug addict, so her family abandoned her. My father was also one, I know nothing about his family except for his half-brother, who was no better. Not even sure if he's still alive."

She was talking about it as if it were straight facts that she had accepted and didn't care about anymore long time before they even knew each other. It was the same attitude she had back then at Harry Dillan's funeral, when talking about her mother passing away next to her while being oblivious.

"Well, since no one wanted a well-fed child, I had to stay with the other kids for part of my childhood and they weren't nice either," she told, "you know, orphans are more likely within their own community and I was even excluded from that. Isn't that mean?"

"Indeed, children can be cruel."

"Woah, but not even children! My primary school teacher was too!" she complained, annoyed when she just thought back to it. "Because the orphanage was farther away from the school I was signed up to, they put me into a new one that was closer. I hadn't had the 'luck' to be with other orphans, so I was the only in that class and my teacher knew the basics about my parents and my abode, and she always had the need to point that out and make me look like the biggest loser and fool! I hated that woman! I was surprised that I even passed primary school!"

Noticing that she was getting slightly too upset about it, she paused and inhaled deeply through her nose while frowning. "I'm sorry, I'm whiny again. God, I must be really hard to listen to, right? Always complaining and crying about anything."

"Hard to listen to?" Law said, "kinda. Sometimes I wonder that you can even finish a sentence."

"I finish many sentences, like this one. See? Ha!"

Again, he chuckled, but stayed attentive to her story. "Did you stay there until you turned 18?"

"No," said she, "my father was released from prison when I was ten, then he fought for custody another four years until he made it and took me to his home."

"So, he could bestir before you became an adult."

"What, are you kidding?" said she with a sarcastic smile, shaking her head and pointed with the finger to herself. "Noo, _I_ was the one to pay our rent. _I_ was the one who did everything in the house. This man robbed my childhood more than anyone else."

Her tension grew and she exhaled out slowly but the stress clearly to hear when only thinking about her so called father. "When I wasn't at school, I had to work, and before I turned 16, I had to do it illegally since I wasn't the age yet to work that much. He was still in the drug scene and I always had to scold him not to freaking touch the money I had earned, to get his drugs. For most of the time, he listened, but else he was always gone to do his drug business or whatsoever!"

When Law had met Quinn first, he had thought she was an annoying young adult who had never touched the ground in her life. Her bubbly and childish personality, he thought that had resulted from a spoiled childhood before he got to know her step by step to a point he could understand her life wasn't as fabulous as she made it appear. And though, hearing then from what broken social-circle she actually came from, surprised again and made it so much more understandable what she was today. It seemed like an indemnity, her leaving her past behind, rectifying an omission.

Quinn got up. "You know what? I want to get into the water." Law raised a brow and she looked down at him. "You wanna come too?"

"No."

"Oh maaan, now you leave me hanging?" asked she. "You don't have to be able to swim for that, it's just a quick walk inside."

"No, Peanut," said he, "the water's cold, you'll catch a cold later if you get inside with your clothes."

Getting back down with her knees first, she stared grumpily forward. "Man. Now you make me looking like an idiot."

"When are you not," said he with a mocking smirk.

After seconds of huff and no response then, she tilted her head back to him, trying to eye him up and down, but saw really just little from his figure. "Okay, then you know what else?"

"What?"

"I'll only do this now, because it's totally dark." Quinn grabbed the ends of her shirt and pulled it up, over her head, taking Law by surprise as she knelt next to him in her underwear. Then she got up and paddled over to the water. "See ya!"

Perplexed, he stared at the white shirt left behind next to him and back to her. Yes, it was way too dark to really see her, but still, his eyes were good enough to know she just had undressed next to him out of nowhere. The closer she got to the water, the lighter the picture became and he could figure her silhouette and partly those of her underwear, moving inside the water.

From afar, he heard her squeaking as she noticed how cold the first contact was. She went deeper inside and fidgeted with her arms while repeating the world 'cold' a few times until a big wave hit her and shut her mouth in shock for a moment. Quinn then laughed and he could feel her smile at him from the distance. She needed that, this cold chill and refreshment; and he felt well watching her enjoying it.

Once more she was only reminding him that she was the girl he still wanted not only to fuck but to care for.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Happy Halloween!_

 _ **Nightmare22** \- This story is nowhere near an end; you can treat the previous chapter like a season final haha :)_

 _ **Mina135** \- Ah, I'm very happy that someone noticed that xD This story will have a long run, so you can expect lots of chapters in future and indeed, some lemon ;D_

 _ **skypineapples33** \- You make me very happy giving this fiction a chance! With that line I mean that Law knew when Sabo kept going like that, the relationship had to fail. Also, I knew most will be salty at him, so it was important to me to show that kind heart you talk about haha. Right, the Umbrella thing, I also forgot to answer your question about her driving issues. In this case, it's nothing big. I mentioned in previous chapter that it was her favorite umbrella and also somewhere along the line that she hadn't been behind the wheel since she got her driver license, hence she's just insecure about it._

 _ **Guest** \- Milo didn't know about the kidnapping, it's just his character :) Also, he never liked Law as you might have noticed in other chapters, thus as you guess right, didn't really trust him. Anyway, thank you so much for the compliment, makes me really happy!_

 _ **Again, to all:** Thanks for reading and reviewing (no matter if short), you always make my day q.q_


	48. A somewhat more special relationship

_**A/N:** I've seen I haven't updated in a month, I'm so sorry! These days, life's becoming really stressful, but I'll try to update at least twice a month from now on. Anyway, here you go~!_

* * *

 **48\. A somewhat more special relationship**

"Ouch!" Shachi yelled at Penguin when that one struck a hit on his red back, leaving a clear mark of all his five fingers. "Ya dickhead!"

"Ohh, that looks really bad," Penguin said, eyeing the burnt spot of his skin. "Guess you've missed a spot when you put the sunscreen on."

"I didn't get to the back, I'm not that flexible."

"That's why I'm still wearing my shirt, maybe one of the girls would help?"

Skeptical, Shachi narrowed his eyes at him. "You're not really thinking they would help ya putting sunscreen on?"

"Why not?" ask his mate, not doubting the idea at all. They were friends long enough now to think of it as a casual act. His head moved to stare over the beach with searching eyes. "Where are they anyway? They take pretty long to get here."

"Oi, Law," Shachi called out and tilted his head to his behind, "did Judy text you?"

Relaxing on a deckchair under one of the few gazebos at the beach that stood meters away from the water, Law didn't bother to move, probably haven't checked his phone even once, and rather kept his eyes close with his hands settled comfortably behind his head. "Just wait, they'll come sooner or later."

"Don't you wanna go inside the water?" Shachi asked next when surveying his clothing. Law might wore shorts and a casual short-sleeved black button down shirt, but it didn't seem like he had prepared for any classic appearance at the beach. "I mean, you-"

"Shach'?" Penguin said confused when his mate cut his own words, suddenly froze with his eyes in shock with the sunglasses slipped from his nose.

"Today's so nice," Penguin then heard Judy's voice behind him, causing a wry smile on his face, not daring to turn around to face the nakedness that had turned his mate to stone.

 _Oh she killed you_ , thought he, staring at the froze guy.

Whack!

"Argh," Shachi snapped back, groaning. "What the-"

"Hide your erection and get hold of yourself dude," Penguin told before he turned around as well to face the brunette. Yes, Judy looked incredible hot in their eyes, especially as she was shamelessly wearing that saucy red bikini in public, but he thought it was time for his mate to get at least that bit of use to her skimpiness to not die in front of her.

Back to normal and under more self-control, Shachi sighed when he was watching how casually she talked to Law. "I'm so envy, he hit that."

Penguin nodded. "Oh yes..."

"What do you think Quinn's wearing?"

"Polka dots."

"Then I say stripes."

"Forget it," Judy interfered after her ears had caught their little conversation. "Quinn would never expose herself to the public that much."

The two looked at her. "Whaaa? Everyone does, what is she wearing then?"

"Hellooooo people!"

That quirky calling. The two guys turned their heads into its direction, facing Quinn in another oversize, but black, T-shirt. They should have known.

"Whaddup-waddup-whadduuup?" said she while mimicking plain rapper-gesticulations in an exaggerated way, stepping under the gazebo as well.

The guys looked quietly up to Judy and she smiled, shrugging her shoulders like 'told cha'.

"I'm sooo ready for the beach," said Quinn excited, both hands in the air as she was stretching her body. "You too?"

"We are...," Shachi replied, still in disbelief that she just had destroyed his expectations with that black fabric on her and probably some shorts underneath as well.

Penguin hit the back of his head to have him returning from his thoughts while telling Quinn, "yeah, of course we're too!"

"I've never swum at the beach, this will be so great! It's soooo nice out here, the sun's shining and everyone's happy and I even saw an ice cream truck with MARSHMALLOW ice when I come here, holy crap! This place is the best place on the world! We can build sandcastles and we can bury someone in the sand and-and-and slurp cocktails from the cocktail bar here, oh my god, I just saw someone with a cocktail with glitter, isn't that awesome?! Why haven't we left town earlier and-" Her eyes stopped at Law. "...Seriously?!"

Noticing her attention on him, the lax guy moved his gaze to her only to see her rushing over, eyeing him up and down.

"I know this look! It just screams: _'I'm at the beach, but I won't go anywhere near the water'_."

"Yeah."

"No! Why do you do this?!" asked she disappointed. "This supposed to be the best holiday ever!"

"I'm doing fine here," said he, continuing to care less about his surrounding.

Quinn half-lidded her eyes and looked into the round while pointing at him. "And you're okay with this?"

"Well," Penguin said, pulling his shoulders up, "he _is_ relaxing."

She got down on her knees next to him, whispering into Law's ear, "oooold man. I should've pulled you inside the water yesterday."

As she didn't expect a reaction, he tilted his face slightly up to her with a smirk, made her blushing instantly as he just reminded her of her presence in her underwear last night.

"Fine!" she stretched long and got up stiffly. "Then do as you want!"

Quinn stomped away, making the bunch looking after her, wondering why this upset her so much. But she and Law always had a somewhat more special relationship, so that they didn't waste time on that but continued with the day as planned.

"Hey Judy," Penguin called, holding the sunscreen up and earning her attention. "Help me with this?"

"Sure."

Shachi looked at the two, confused and in great disbelief. "What?!"

* * *

"Ah man..." Quinn grumbled as she stood at the cocktail bar, undecided which drink to buy. She might have seen the cocktail with glitter in it, but she hadn't expected it to be _that_ expensive and then only with alcohol. The majority of the cocktails were mixed with alcohol, what she just couldn't understand.

As she was still staring at the drink menu, the bartender put a beer bottle in front of her, catching her surprise eyes. "From that guy," said he, pointing to someone at the other end of the counter before he walked away to serve other customers.

The stranger smirked at her and budged up, confusing Quinn a little and made her smiling awkwardly. "Uhm, thank you, but uhh, do I know you?"

"No, but I saw you were unsure, so I thought I'd take that burden for you."

"Oh... yeah... thanks," she said. "But I don't drink."

"Oh, my bad," said the guy. "Why not though?"

"Uhm, why should I?"

He snickered. "To feel better. Why do you think people drink when they have a bad day? Gives you highs and is a great downer for negativity."

"Sorry, I decline. Thanks though." Quinn tensed her lips to a small bow down and turned away from him, trying to focus back on the drink menu.

Since she refused further interaction, he did another attempt to approach her. "Let me guess, your boyfriend gave you that big lumpy shirt because he doesn't allow you to show yourself in public, dressing as you want."

Quinn narrowed her eyes and stared back at the guy. "Yeah, and he doesn't want me to talk to some random dudes."

The guy chuckled. "Well, I do understand him. I'd be worried too if my girlfriend looks that gorgeous." She rolled her eyes a bit and told the bartender to give her a Ginger Ale. Receiving it with a straw, the guy kept his mouth open. "Do you work somewhere in sports? You look pretty fit for drinking those things."

Quinn looked at him, now somewhat annoyed. "Maybe? And you? At a grocery store?"

"No, why that?" asked he, smiling confused.

"So why are checking me out?" She took her drink and got away. No, she wasn't in a relationship anymore, but that dude's attempt to hit on her even she told him she did have a boyfriend was despicable.

With no detour, she returned to the gazebo where Law was still chilling alone even after almost an hour. Quietly, she approached him from behind, crawling on all fours to stay undetected in order to scare him from the side. "Booh!"

Law showed no reaction.

"Had you seen me coming?" asked she, settling casually next to him on the ground. That he was not scared at all was also no surprise anymore.

"Yeah."

"Ah man, you and your good wits..."

He looked at her as she was next to him, slurping from the straw in her Ginger Ale bottle. "What's with the glitter cocktail?"

"That one's with alcohol and super expensive anyway and- oh wait, you had heard that?"

"I wish I hadn't."

"Ohh nice," she said, ignoring his last sentence. "Then you surely also had heard that we should bury someone in the sand. I had made a plan! Since you're just wanna do nothing anyway but lying around, why not volunteering?"

"Why don't you volunteer if you find that so funny?"

"Because I like to bury things, not to be the buried one. Too much energy, I _have_ to be in constant motion."

He raised a brow over his uninspired eyes. "And you really think there's someone finding it funnier to be buried in sand?"

"...No."

Law closed his eyes again and looked away, continuing where she had interrupted him.

"Heeey, maybe the reason for your low energy's that your blood sugar's low and you need something sweet." She held out her drink, the straw between her finger and thumb pointed into his direction.

"Peanut," said he a tiny bit exasperated from her babble and straightened his upper body from the deckchair, turning his feet to ground on her side. "You probably don't get 'low blood sugar' right. I told you once already not to throw around with medical terms or conditions."

"Hy-hy-hypoglaa-something."

"Hypoglycemia," he helped her out and leaned forward, taking the straw between his lips for a gulp from her bottle before he continued, "and I should know first if I got it or not."

Her cheeks turned a little pink as she hadn't expected him to indeed take a sip. "...Hypo-smart-assing."

Law smirked. "Hypo-sweetness."

"What...?" Quinn replied confused, blushing a bit more.

"Your drink."

Understanding then and feeling awkward, she failed at her attempt to reply normal, "oh, uhm, yeah... you're right. It-it, it is sweet!"

"How can you drink this every time," he said and stared at the bottle while in his mind he recalled the other dozen of times she had been ordering that kind. For him, once was enough.

"I like sweet," said she, still awkward, "sweet is awesome. Sweet is sweet! Hypo-sweetness! Hey, sugar is sweet and much sugar prevents low blood sugar, right? I'm not that bad."

He leaned his mouth into his palm, looking down and chuckling about her sudden flurry.

"Hey, why are you laughing? Correct me if I'm wrong," she replied embarrassed. His face slowly shifted back at her, the smirk still visible through his eyes and she looked away with pink face. "You're stupid..."

"Sugary food and drinks contain lots of calories that support weight gain. Overweight can lead to Diabetes type 2 and this could make you taking medications to increase your insulin production as a treatment. And this can cause low blood sugar."

"Yes, Doctor," she said and put the bottle aside. "I'll stop consuming those."

"You're far from becoming overweight."

"Hey, I was once, so why not again?"

"Right, I forgot. You're eating like a machine."

Quinn lowered her eyelids again, not pleased about his tease on her eating behavior. "Maybe you shall eat more too than two rice balls a day?"

"I never said I'm only eating two rice balls a day."

"How could you get these abs anyway," she asked in mockery when ignoring his latter statement, poking through his shirt into his stomach. Meeting his abs then with the tip of her finger, more defined than expected, she startled and withdrew immediately with widened eyes. "I-I-I-I'm sorry...!"

Law's gaze stayed lazy as always, showing no big reaction. "What is this? Are you turning kinda sexual these days?"

"Excuse me?" Quinn said appalled.

"Touching other guys; undressing next to them; running around like wearing no pants."

She turned red and also somewhat mad. "First, I poked you! This is nowhere near sexual! Second, you couldn't see anything anyway last night, it was too dark! And third, what the heeell? I'm more dressed than any other women here right now...! And I do have shorts underneath!"

"It's a mind game," he replied. "Seeing the other women in their swimsuits and bikinis becomes normal among the mass, but seeing a girl walking between them only with a big tee makes people curious."

She grabbed the ends of her shirt and stuck it under her knees. "Is this how men-minds work?"

"Well, maybe not all, but a large number?"

"Is this how yours work?"

He smirked. "Maybe?"

"OH MYYYY," she moaned. "Yooo pervert."

Like it was not special to him anymore, he lay back down, saying, "I've seen you in your bra already. Nothing special."

"I'm sorry that I'm not attractive enough for you, Dr. Pervert."

"No need to excuse, not everyone can be."

She point out her tongue at him as he wasn't looking, grimacing.

A big sigh crawled to their ears so that both checked the direction they heard it was coming from only to see Shachi returning from the water. "Oh man, people here are so needy."

"What's wrong?" asked Quinn, looking at his long face.

"So many guys hitting on Judy and it looks like those even see it as a challenge now as she rebuffs one after another."

"Yeah, what did you expect?" she responded, not surprised about the news. "That people would ignore that pretty and skimpy clothed meat?"

"No, but... I _did_ expect that," said he, not able to explain his thoughts. "It's just weird."

"Hey, aren't you hitting on nice girls too?"

"Yeaaah, buuut... I don't know."

"You can take your shirt and pull it over her head," she joked. "So, when she runs around like me, maybe they'll stop."

"What? I can't do this," he replied. "It's her business... And I don't think that would change anything anyway. She still looks hot."

Listening to their conversation put another amused smirk on Law's face and he couldn't help but comment. "A sack can't turn anyone into a potato, Peanut."

"Are you making fun of me?" she said, glaring back at him with eyes only half-open again. "First you say it's a mind game, now you say I look like a potato."

"Yeah, maybe some people have a thing for potatoes. Or are desperate."

"Uh, you're gorgeous, Quinn," Shachi said, but his words got lost between their banter.

She placed a hand to her waist, pointing with the other hand at Law. "Ouh! I won't argue with you about how attractive I am. You're just tooooooooooo dainty."

"Yeah, maybe I am. And?"

She puffed her cheeks.

"Quinn, you don't have to worry, you're really pretty..." Shachi tried again, but still got ignored.

"Yeah, you are. That's it," she replied, her pitch slightly higher. Law kept his amusement in silence so that she was somewhat offended and annoyed. "And that you know: I _did_ get hit on at the bar! And he said I'm gorgeous!"

"Uhm, I said that too..." Shachi said. Still ignored.

"Did you just call yourself gorgeous?" Law asked in mockery.

"What, no, _he_ told me I'm gorgeous!" Her gaze sank embarrassed to ground again. "I told you, calling yourself compliments is... who even does that? And-and-and, I'm not gorgeous... I'm okay, I'm not ugly, I mean, it's subjective anyway, I... yeah okay, maybe I'm not in the like of everybody, but there are people telling me I'm pretty... and I actually get hit on a lot... somehow... yeah, I don't think they lied... or? I dunno... Maybe I'm a pretty potato among the potatoes? Oh this is mean, everyone is pretty in their own way... oh my god... what if guys hit on me because I look like a cheap hooker all the time?!" She darted her face to Shachi, asking him panicky, "do I look like a cheap hooker?! Is that the reason people hit on me?! Do I look easy to you?!"

"No! I told you, you're gorgeous!" Shachi repeated, finally being heard. "You and Judy are like models!"

"Okay, now you're _exaggerating_ ," she said, hyperventilating a little. "Oh my god, maybe I should ask someone else, maybe Penguin, he got his mind right."

"Hey, what is that suppose to mean?!" Shachi asked. She jumped up and rushed away from the spot in search of the redhead's mate, her mind lost in her worries of attracting people for the wrong reasons. "Oh man Law," said he then, turning to the relaxing guy who seemed to care about nothing. "Why are you scratching on her confidence, you know that's a woman's worst weak point. You have to _compliment_ them."

...

"What? Nooo, you look pretty decent."

"Really?" Quinn asked, the insecurity visible through her fidgeting fingers. "I mean, you know, people call me hot, but people also call hookers hot, and-and-and, maybe it's my hair? Does it look bad to you like badly bleached blonde? I swear my roots are just a bit darker 'cause the lengths are bleached by the sun! Ahhhh what am I talking about, I feel sooo shallow and stupid. Nevermind!"

Penguin furrowed his brows with a smile, showing no understanding for her worries. "What makes you thinking so? If you look like a hooker, the school you work at probably wouldn't employ you."

"You're right!" she agreed in a switch and grabbed his upper arms, pulling him to her to give him a quick tight squeeze. "Thank you, Pen-Pen!" She balled her fists, holding them up next to her shoulders and walked away, telling herself, "I'm a strong, confident woman! I'm pretty and I need no man to tell me! Yes! I'm super Quinn! Be alert world!"

"Wow, what happened to her?" Judy asked as she randomly appeared next to the guy who was watching her confused.

"Don't know."

Quinn walked back to Law with more confidence and energy. Repeatedly lifting and sinking her fists, made him sensing her attitude already from afar so that he had to peek with an eye.

"Let's get into the water," said she, halted next to him. "Let's have fun!"

He closed his eyes again, ignoring her.

Her speaking turned into energy loaded babble, chewing his ears off from all sides. "You've been to the seaside before, but ever swam in the ocean? I mean, you can't swim, but hey, many kids neither and it's still fun. I can teach you, you'll be like my practice student before I actually give swim lessons at school after the summer holidays! The sand under your feet's sooooo soft and smooth in the water and the big waves hitting you's sooo fun! Everyone's getting hit on out there! HA! Buh-dum tss!"

Though Law heard what she was saying, he didn't mind her endless babble, but he also didn't feel like responding. Maybe he was lazy or amused about it. Probably a bit of either.

"We can do tricks in the water," said she and pushed her legs up to a handstand, walking on two hands a little around him before she fell smoothly into a back arch from where she straightened effortless. "Look, this is so much funnier under water!" said she then, passing his side with a cartwheel, followed by a badly done pirouette that got her stumble a bit.

Not bothering to look at her, he got up. "I don't know why you want me to get out there so badly."

Quinn followed him with another handstand as he walked away. "Maybe you just don't want to because you don't know the fun."

Setting her hand on the sand as they got away from the gazebo's wooden floor, she slipped off and fell with a little shriek on her back next to Law's feet, who then stopped casually with his hands in his trouser pockets. Offered only a swift glance that carried a smirk at her as she stared at him from beneath, he continued his path then.

"Heeey, why don't you help me up," Quinn shouted after him, fidgeting with both arms in the air in hope he would look back. But he didn't and so she turned on her stomach, watching him walking away. "You're so not gentleman."

* * *

When Law walked out of the restroom, the first person he ran into was Judy. She stood there with folded arms, waiting just a few meters away from the small construction, knowing that he had gone there.

"If you wanna talk about Quinn with me, leave it, "said he, stopped at his way out.

Her eyes shifted aside and she pulled her shoulders up slowly, her smile uncomfortable. "Wow, that's the first time you ever said her name when talking about her." When he didn't respond but watch with anticipation for clearer statements, she added, "you know, it's usually always _'she, her_ or _your friend'_."

"Listen," said Law, turning both eyes back at him, "just because she's out of this relationship with Sabo now, doesn't mean I'll try to approach her from now on."

"You'll do anyway."

"I know she's your friend and you're worried about her, but I've no interest to babysit anyone, let alone a grown woman, now or in the future. So stop telling me what I'm doing or what I'm supposed to do."

"But you're always stressing yourself out," said she in little hysteria, "isn't that paradox? You come to me, complaining about your situation, and then you make it worse by acting against your own principles and complain again that I'm telling you, you do wrong."

His gaze became deeper and he spoke his final statement, "I'm fine. Just don't mind my business."

As he walked away, she turned after him, shouting, "Law, you're paradox! Go and get your feelings clear or leave it completely!"

Out of her sight then, Judy closed her eyes annoyed and took a deep breath. She almost felt like slapping herself for this conversation that had contributed nothing to make their relationship better. She almost felt like Quinn. Feeling attracted to a guy that didn't do well for her.

"What are you doing..." she muttered to herself before some random guy thought it was a good idea to whistle at her, only to receive an annoyed "fuck off," before she head off herself.

* * *

Quinn was putting Shachi's hair back to a ponytail while Penguin sat next to them, building some little sand castles with his hands. The two had no clue where either Judy or Law were as they rattled around the whole day. Eventually, they had stopped caring about their attitudes, Law the lonely wolf and Judy whatever she was always doing. Sitting in the sand, the three enjoyed themselves and chitchatted about the upcoming evening and how the rest of the weekend would develop. It was a jaunty conversation with trivial thoughts, random people around enjoying the beach just as they were doing.

"Hey sweety," suddenly a guy voice sounded above them and the trio looked up to face a bunch of men around their age. Not bad looking, but the type of bundle normal people preferred to walk around. "How about hanging out with some people your league."

"Hey, are you hitting on our friend in front of us?!" Penguin snarled, getting up.

"Penguin," Quinn said, "ignore them."

"Oh, she's your friend?" said the guy and his group giggled in the back. In mock-surrender, he lifted his arms stepping backwards with a provoking smile. "I'm sorry, I thought you were harassing her or so."

"Does this look like harassing to you?!" Shachi asked with the freshly done pony tail Quinn had gotten her hands off immediately as he started to voice his annoyance too. This giant beach seemed to be full of dicks not knowing their way.

The bunch was amused, holding back their laughs, but not their grins so that even Quinn rolled her eyes from the inner. She had no clue why some women found it so exciting to get hit on, maybe it was a poor way of validation they needed. For her part, she was happy to have been spared from it for quite a long time since the one at the cocktail bar.

"Yeah, I've seen everything," said the guy as if it was a matter of course, "a beautiful girl, forced to hang out with some dudes she doesn't want to."

With a wink from that guy at Quinn as if he'd be on her side, Penguin raised in his posture. "Hey, you better get lost here and hit on your friends' butt."

"Or what?" asked the guy, now provoked by his opponent's confidence.

"Then you'll see," said Penguin.

"Ouhhhh," the bundle in the back moaned, covering their mouths.

"You challenging me?" said the guy then, taking steps toward Penguin with raised body as well.

"Pen, leave it," Quinn said and got up when she didn't feel well about the situation, just as Shachi did.

Penguin balled his fists, threatening, "you better watch yourself, I'm done with jerks like you."

The guy smirked, eyeing him swiftly up and down and nodded, stepping away. "Fine. But next time, _you_ better watch _your_ mouth."

When they thought the group would get away, they managed to goad Penguin one more as the stranger smiled at Quinn like the friendliest man on earth. Penguin then threw a thoughtless punch at him so that Shachi went between them right away, pushing his mate back.

"You fucking dick," said the guy, wiping the spot on he had received the punch.

"Who's the dick here?!" Penguin shouted.

"Stop it, Penguin!" Quinn yelled at him, putting herself in front to disturb the two guys' eye contact, though he easily looked over her. "Don't get down his level!"

"My level?!" the guy asked appalled. "You know your friend was first to punch me?"

She turned to him. "Yeah, because _you_ don't know how to respect other people."

" _'Respect'_?" he asked and pointed at his bleeding lip. "Do you call _this_ respect?"

For a swift moment, she couldn't counter and tightened her lips to a straight line looking at the wound. Then she turned her face to her angry friend and back at the bunch. " _You two_ were acting like children! No, like wild animals! Either you try to be friends with all or you leave others alone!"

"Oh jesus..." he mumbled with a look to the side as if he couldn't believe what he had heard, smiling in ridicule. "Friends with all? Where are we, in kindergarten?"

"Yeah, the way you all were acting, of course!" Quinn stated.

"You idiots better get back to school," Penguin grouched, but got cut by the blonde.

"You weren't better!"

"But-"

"No!" Quinn said and pointed at both guys simultaneously. "You two were behaving like idiots, provoking each other unnecessarily! This could have been prevented."

"But Qui-"

"I know you won't apologize to each other, so let's skip that and just ignored what happened. Everyone part now and leave the other alone."

Feeling the gazes of some bystanders, the guy felt mocked at his pride and laughed. "Excuse me bitch, do you tryna teach me? Who do you think you are?"

"Oi, who do you call 'bitch'?!" now Shachi ranted back. "She did nothing wrong!"

"Fuck it," said he, "you all are fucking weird. I knew there must be some hook when a pretty girl's friends with some morons like that. You know what, you're not even that pretty!"

"Hey!" Quinn scoffed, "do you know why I'm friends with those two? Because they are lovely and the best you can get, different to you stupid jerk!"

"Watch ya mouth, teacher," one of the bunch commented in mockery, causing some laughter.

"Lovely my ass."

Boiling, she narrowed her brows and stepped up to them, facing the guy one on one. "You know what? Yes, I'm a teacher, funny huh? What are you, huh? I tell you what you are, a bunch of over-confident blockheads who didn't even consider that girls can be friends with guys in a platonic way. And do you know why you didn't consider it? Because you all got a very badittude, so that no girl wants to be friends with you! You're disgusting!"

"Badittude? Bitch, what teacher are you?"

"Bitch, the teacher for your shame!"

* * *

"Seriously?" Judy asked.

The three rubbed their heads sheepishly.

"Wow, there you let those three around alone in a crowd of people and then they get into a fight," said she with her open hand pointed at them while looking at Law.

That one leaned back with a skewer from the grill, not reacting at all but eyeing the trio with languid eyes. He was used to hearing his companions involving themselves into fights so that he of course had seen worse than the little bruises now. More important was that their girl company seemed unhurt. She was just sitting their, grinning like a fool around, avoiding the long eye contact with her best friend while that one scolded them.

Judy shook her head. "I thought I could enjoy this evening, calm with my friends on the dark beach in front of the grill, but no, I have to worry about my best friend dying any moment."

"Hey," Quinn said, "I'm alright, you see? I had two strong men by my side!"

"You should've been worrying about her dying any moment since the day you know her," Law commented calmly, turning faces at him and Quinn's tongue pointed out.

Finding the situation even kind of funny when she recalled it, she laughed and put her palms together. "I'm sooorry Ma'am, but I really tried to avoid the fight, but somehow it escalated."

" _'Somehow'_ ," Shachi repeated and laughed before he recited her with bad voice imitation, " _bitch, the teacher for your shame!_ "

"Hey, I don't care if you fight," said Judy, "go and die if you want, but don't put Quinn in dangerous situations."

Quinn formed a heart with her arms over her head, aiming it at Judy who sat with the chair to her left. "I love you toooo!"

It was a relaxing and jolly evening, the perfect remuneration after a chaotic day from all views. Under the gazebo they sat at the table with the grill, enjoying the small light that enclosed them while the beach waves sounded even several meters away from them in the dark. Since it was pretty late, there weren't many people outside like it used to a few hours ago, and even when they found one or two groups or couples lurking around, they held a great distance from each other as the beach was big enough.

"Hey, should we play a game?" asked Shachi after the meal, suddenly excited when remembering something. "I bought new Truth or Shot cards, how about a little round!"

"Truth or Shot?" Penguin said, grinning. "Not Truth or Dare?"

"Shot is funnier," he replied, holding up an empty coke bottle on one hand and on the other a new and unopened alcohol bottle. "And I don't have 'dare' cards."

"Sounds fun and I'd love to, but you know that Quinn doesn't drink," Judy said.

"Oh..." Shachi looked at Quinn and then at the alcohol in his hand. "I mean, sure... we can do Truth or Dare and use the bottle for any other occasion..."

"Hey, Truth or Dare's fun too!" Penguin said, trying to keep the happy mood up. "And it's easy to come up with 'dares'."

"Oah, I never played this, I remember they played it at one of my freshers' party, but I was too shy to join them," Quinn said. "How does it exactly work?"

"We just get down on the floor to a circle as you may know and spin the bottle," Shachi explained and put both bottles on the ground to get out his new game cards. "Then the one the bottle chose can either answer the question on the card or the one who spun it decides what to do instead. You know, with drinking it'd be taking a shot instead of answering."

"Oh, I did play this once then!" Quinn recalled. "At Mr. Dillan's funeral, I played with Law, though it was random. And without a bottle. And just one round."

"Really?" they asked with a brow rose and shifted their eyes to the nonchalant guy.

He said nothing more but, "I'm out."

"What, why?" Quinn asked disappointed. "This will be lots of fun! Back then you had fun too!"

"Yeah, since when do you care about telling the truth?" Judy asked with conceited face as if provoking him again, ignoring the fact that he actually had enjoyed a game. When Quinn was involved, nothing about him surprised her anymore.

Untouched by it, he answered, "I'm just not in the mood to play."

"In what mood are you then?" Quinn asked, unimpressed about his statement. "Lying, doing nothing? Just like you did uhh, _the whole day_?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"I bet he got some secrets, but he's too lazy to do the dares!" Penguin stated his theory teasingly.

"Yeah."

"Alright, no Law," said he then, not even trying to convince him and circled up with the others on the ground.

Pouting a little, Quinn looked into the round and then at Law. "Then I don't wanna play too..."

"Whaaat? Why?" asked Shachi.

"Because, because, because... it's stupid when Law doesn't play with us..."

"C'mon, what did you expect?" Judy said.

Quinn's eyes wandered to the guy on the chair while she was still pouting a little, seeing that he wasn't interested at all. "I dunno... maybe that's why... You're always excluding yourself from everything and-and-and... I thought when we're here together on holiday, you won't."

He looked at her, knowing already how to counter. Seeing her hanging face though kept him from saying anything for a moment so that only his somewhat pensive glare stayed on her. She looked away with an eyeless smile, making him feeling a little bad instantly.

"Okay, you know what," said she suddenly, perking up her head again, "it's alright, let's just play!"

"That's the Quinn we need!" Penguin said in joy while Shachi put the empty bottle in the middle.

She looked at the redhead who opened the card box, still wrapped in foil, the alcohol bottle he brought standing on the table. Her eyes moved from him to the bottle and back into the chatting round, several times. Quinn drifted more and more into thoughts. She thought about her conversation with the guy at the bar today.

"Uhm, we can play Truth or Shots if you want," said she, causing surprised looks.

"No, it's totally fine!" Shachi claimed and took out the cards. "You don't have to drink! This will be fun too without drinking! I mean, come on, _'dares'_?"

"But I want to!" said Quinn, perplexing the bunch.

"Quinn, don't fool yourself, you don't drink," said Judy.

"Yeah, you don't have to feel bad now, just because you're the only one who doesn't," Shachi added with a smile, trying to say it in a kind and cheerful way.

"I'm turning 24 this year, you don't have to treat me like a child," she replied. "There's always a first time and this is mine. It's not like I'm transforming into an alcoholic after that, don't worry."

They looked at each other, unsure what to answer. Though Quinn negated their assumption, _they_ felt guilty for her decision. Sure she was slowly reaching her mid-20s, but it still felt strange to even imagine that. Especially Judy, who knew Quinn for a few years now, also knew that this girl had never touched any alcohol before except for the swift time in their apartment when she had been with Law.

"Guys," Quinn repeated. "Come on. I won't die of it."

Judy looked up at Law. "What does the doctor say?"

"She's right, she won't die of this bit."

"But her heart problems."

"Alcohol consume isn't good for us all and from what I know about her, this won't harm her more than it harms any of us," said he. "Also, it's her decision."

"Y'all heard the doctor," said Quinn, nodding with a smile. "I'm so ready for this. I want to get this wooziness everyone's talking about!"

"Fine, but believe me when I say you'll be disgusted by the taste," Judy told.

"Oh, this is like enduring bad food, it's okay."

Shachi got up to get the plastic shot glasses, feeling guiltily happy that what he brought wasn't for nothing. Back at his spot, he prepared the shots and cards while Law observed them. When he didn't expect it, Quinn looked back at him with a kind smile, startling him somewhat so that he quickly looked away.

"Play too, Doc," she said, "it's 'Truth or Shot' now."

"Oh yeah, right," Shachi added and looked at the guy on the chair as well. "This will be easy to you!"

His mouth twitched to a silent grumble and Quinn's smile showed teeth while both her fists shook next to her shoulders to cheer on him playing with them.

Rolling his eyes then after watching this and the other gazes on him for more than a minute, he gave in and sighed lowly. "Make it short."

"No, we make it shot."

"Quinn," Judy said, no one reacting to her bad pun. The girl was the only one that laughed.

"Yeaaah!" she growled then and pointed her finger in a jerk at Law. "I will so destroy you!"

"Quinn, there's no winner or loser," Penguin told, snickering.

"Ohh, I'll spin the bottle so hard it will expose all his thoughts and secrets or make him drunk, hehe!"

Before they started, Shachi didn't think twice as he sorted out the questions about exes in order not to trigger the girl. Then as the game owner, he was first to spin the bottle and the person the tip was pointing at was Penguin. He drew a card and read, "have you ever thought of making out with one of you? If yes, whom?"

"Ohhh, Pen," Shachi said with mocking tone and a big grin.

"Seriously, you all know that answer anyway!" Penguin said, "I don't have to answer it!"

"But those are the rules," Judy said, smirking. He looked into the round and back to the brunette, gulping. "Say it."

"YES! Yes, I have, okay?!"

"Who was it?!" Shachi asked, grinning with the same gloat as Judy's smirk was carrying.

Penguin's cheeks turned somewhat pink and he looked down. "Gosh, we have two pretty women among us and one was basically reserved when we met her..."

Quinn put her palm on her chest. "I appreciate your honesty, Penguin."

"Not the indirect compliment...?" he wanted to know in shame.

"No, that's rather ew, but it's okay."

He sighed and spun the bottle next. It pointed at Law.

As he drew the top card, all eyes were on him, anxiously smiling like fools in hope he would draw something embarrassing.

"Who do you think is the most annoying among you?" read he with low voice, the typical attitude when he wasn't in the motivation to play, and his eyes moved in turn from Judy to Quinn.

It didn't take long for them to see his thoughts so that Quinn half-lidded her eyes and complained, "hey, this isn't some sexist thing again, is it?"

"No," he claimed, "you two just happen to be more annoying than the other two."

"Thanks," Shachi commented and received a flat 'amen' from Penguin.

Law decided then, "Quinn."

"Why am I not surprise," said she and he smirked at her before spinning the bottle again.

Judy was next. "If you could leave only one person alive among your friends, who would it be?"

"This game's destroying friendships," Quinn commented with small appall.

"Easy. Quinn."

"Yeay! I love you toooo!"

"I bet you can turn her mind when you blackmail her, like with _INtercourse_ ," Shachi teased.

"Ha-ha, very funny," Judy responded unimpressed about his humor, getting his mouth shut in regret for that comment. She then spun and the bottle pointed at Quinn this time.

"Uhhhhm, 'Who do you think would be a bad date amo-' Law."

"Oh Cap," Penguin said with a hand on the guy's shoulder, "no offense, but I'm sure we all would've chosen that answer."

"Not offended at all," he replied, his amused undertone and smirk pointed directly towards the girl across. She pointed her tongue at him again, making more quiet grimaces while he kept smirking, enjoying her stupid behavior. Then she spun the bottle and got Shachi.

"Yeah, I've been waiting for this," the redhead said and drew a card. "Have you ever woke up to a complete stranger in your bed?"

Penguin suddenly burst out in laughter, embarrassing his friend and made everyone knowing the answer instantly.

"Yeah I had," he told, "this was super awkward. She looked super fine, but then... _she_ was the one extremely shocked about me and yeah... that hurt."

"Oh, poor guy," Judy said sarcastically.

"Hey, not everyone can be as handsome as Law."

"Weeell, if _I_ 'd wake up next to Law, I wouldn't be delighted as well," Quinn remarked, but got ignored since everyone knew, she would react like that to _any_ guy she wasn't in a relationship with.

Then Shachi spun.

"What, me again?" Quinn said, pointing with the finger to herself as the bottle did too. Nervously, she drew a card and read, "whom do you trust the most among you?"

"Boooring," Penguin said, walling his mouth on one side. "Skip it, that's too ea- What?!"

Taken aback, they stared at her as she took the first shot out of the blue after saying nothing to the question. Also Law was taken off-guard and was surely just as surprised as her best friend whom he was exchanging looks with, wondering if they were thinking the same.

"Wuaaah!" she gasped out and put the empty shot glass down. "That tastes so bad! This is worse than bad food."

"You just..." Penguin started, still perplexed from her decision, "I thought, uhhh, you, uhm, Judy? It's Judy, isn't it?"

She looked at the card again. "Ouh, _whom I trust the most_ was the question! Ouh, yeah, uhh, sorry, I misread that then, I mean, sure, yeah, of course it's Judy...! Who else? I mean, yeah, you all are the best, but of course, she's my best friend, right? So it has to be her! Yeah, it's, it's you Judy! I trust you the most among us and of all people in the world! Yes!"

Silence.

"Just spin it," Judy said then, trying to get her out of the awkward situation. Quinn nodded frantically and did.

The game carried on and there were funny questions; questions with obvious answers and questions that got quite sexual. Quinn basically skipped all sexual questions with a shot, she was probably the one drinking the most among them and Judy and Law the least (all in all, Judy wasn't drunk yet).

"Have you ever had a threesome," Law read flatly and also answered so, "yeah." This was no secret anyway, most of his sexual history was almost like an open book to all of them.

"I bet he even had a foursome!" Quinn said. "Nooo, a hundredsome!"

"You alright, Quinn?" Shachi asked with a little grin, looking at the girl who nodded to his question calmly.

"I feel super good, don't worry."

"Oh, it's your turn," he said then and handed her a card as her reaction seemed notably slower now.

"Uhm..." she mumbled and turned the card as it was the wrong side up. "What, uhm where, no, _what_ was the last sin you ever committed?"

"Quinn scolded one of her students too much," Penguin joked, got everyone but Law laughing.

Quinn laughed too and shook her head in negation. "Noooo, I kicked my father right in the nuts when I was 16 or so."

Shachi and Penguin's eyes grew in shock, not expecting that confession at all. For them, she was an angel in human form.

"This was my first time to really get violent at someone and also my last time. Yeah, I was like you're stupid, and he was like noo I'm sorry, Quinn and I was nooo and bam! Kicked him right between his legs. Then he shrunk and groaned and I was like crying and upset and then I yelled, yo bitch, no, I didn't say bitch, but I thought so and I was like, I hope you never get anyone preggers agai-"

"Okay, that's for the story," Judy cut her off, covering her mouth with her hand. "Maybe you shouldn't play anymore."

"What?" Quinn said when her friend let go again. "Why?"

"Because I promise you, you'll regret whatever you're telling here next."

Quinn's mouth corners pointed downward and she nodded. "I mean, you're my friends and... okay... if you say that. You're right, Ma'am... But I still can spin the bottle, right?"

Receiving a nod, she smiled and grabbed the bottle, attempting a hard spin that ended up rather very weak.

"Wow Quinn, you're drunk," Penguin stated.

"Naah," she said and touched her head. "Sorry, I think I'm just a little tipsy."

" _Tipsy?_ You had six shots."

"I'm fine, really," she claimed and straightened her torso, saluting. "See, I'll stay here quiet and watch you guys!"

They smiled a little worried, but trust her words, agreed and carried on with the game. A few kinky and absurd questions followed again, here and there a truth or a shot that brought up laughter. That night, Law didn't say more than the answers to the questions on the cards. Now and then his eyes shifted over to Quinn, who seemed alright and had fun with the others even without playing. Honestly, he even thought her little wooziness was somewhat cute, different to her story with her father, but that was for another time to think of. This little drunken state just emphasized the weirdness in her, like back to the days he had met her first with her giant ridiculous pompom on her head. The feeling he had at that moment felt somewhat nostalgic. And when she caught him watching, she smiled and waved at him like an idiot so that he tried to fight a smile or even light laughter as reaction.

"Do you believe in love at the first sight," Penguin read. "Naah, of course not."

"Oh loooove," Quinn said with a ridiculing tone, rolling her eyes. "Who needs that anyway?"

"Yeah," Penguin agreed with mock-ridicule, shaking his head. "Right? We're all single and still awesome, we don't need a special someone when we have us together."

Judy smirked to the joyful mood within the round and by the look at Quinn. It was calming to see her laughing and enjoying herself during this trip just as she had planned. Her eyes wandered over to Law, who, too, stayed quiet in the back, sharing their thoughts with mere eye contact.

Quinn exhaled with a bright laugh, laying her arm around Penguin and pulling him closer.

"Hey Pumpquinn, you alright?" he asked her amused as she sank her head to his shoulder.

"Her cheeks are so red," Shachi noted, giggling. "Now she's really drunk, definitely."

Quinn touched her own face, leaning her weight more onto Penguin. "Ahhh, I feel dizzy... What is this..."

"And?" Judy said, "how is it? The wooziness you wanted."

Her arms moved around Penguin and she hid her face in his shoulder, mumbling, "you guys are awesome..."

"Of course we are," Shachi responded as if it was a matter of fact.

"No..." Quinn mumbled again, "seriously, you really are..."

Penguin lay his hand on her head to pat her, smiling at the blonde head.

"Love is stupid," she said then. "We don't need romantic relationships." Perking her head up, she looked at Penguin with eyes half-lidded as if it was hard to hold them open. "Your last girlfriend left you anyway and love was never strong enough to fight the distance between you."

Uncomfortable to answer this, he put on a weak and insecure smile, choosing not to reply.

Quinn straightened a little and looked to the ground, chuckling. "And Shachi's last girlfriend cheated on him..."

"Hey, Quinn," Judy commented with narrowed brows.

"What?" Quinn snapped back, raising her chin at her.

"That's enough."

"Pff," she responded with an eye roll. "You know, it's shit."

The bunch looked at each other when they noticed how her mood shifted into a rather unpleasant direction. Suddenly, the smiles disappeared on their faces as they watched their friend struggling to keep her own open.

"Love is like... a sweet cake," Quinn told with cumbersome voice, "it's awesome, but it's temporary. And it's not needed but a mind game." She looked at her hands, seeming to drift away more into thoughts and held everyone anxious about the things that ran through her mind at that moment. Then she bit her lower lip. "It's just craving, I don't need that cake, but eating it makes me extra happy..."

Judy looked aside, inhaling deeply before she got up and walked over to her. "And you know what? There'll be a new cake someday and makes you extra happy again. Even more than before."

Quinn tilted her head to her, attacking her friend with her tired eyes. "And still, it's temporary."

"Qui-"

"Psst," she hushed her, pressing her finger against Judy's lips. "Ya know long romance's shit. It doesn't exist." The brunette's lips formed to a straight line while looking into her face, which eyes might seem unfocused, but not off the attention. "Ya father cheated on ya mom with like a hundred women. Romance, is, shit."

Law suddenly got up and put his arm around her back, sliding it under her armpits. "I'll get her back to the hotel."

Perplexed by the moment, the bunch on the ground looked at the guy that crouched behind the drunk girl. They agreed, but showed it only through stiff nods.

When he pulled her to him to lift her up, she fought against it like a whiny child. "What cha doooin'? Let goooh."

"Quinn, you better get some sleep now," Judy said and got up as well. "I go with you," she told Law then.

His eyes scanned over the place and he negated. "You better finished the rest and clean the spot. Just give me the keys, I'll take her to bed and return then."

"Nooo!" Quinn said and pushed him away from her. "Lemme!" From one moment of the other, he saw it coming when he looked into her face and she suddenly started to cry. "No, I'm so sorryyy..."

Worried, Shachi and Penguin's brows curled and they got up too when Law slid his arm under her knee pits to get up with her. She covered her face with her fists and her body vibrated as she burst out crying stronger with no strength to fight him anymore.

"Pumpquinn..." left Shachi's mouth quietly.

"I'm so sorry," she said again, not stopping to cry.

"Why you're sorry?" asked Penguin. "You did nothing wrong."

She shook her head and repeated herself, making Law keeping the time short. "Give me the keys to your room."

"Sure that I shouldn't come with you?" Judy asked, fumbling out the keys from her bag on the chair.

"Stay here."

"But-"

"It's better. Just do as I say."

She paused, her face expressing displeasure, but also insecurity about his commanding tone. Accepting it unsatisfied, she handed him the keys while showing him her dissatisfaction through her intense eye contact. Law didn't care though and took it between his fingers with the crying girl on his arms. Her hands still covered her face while the tears ran down with no stop in sight so that Law knew, this was probably going to last until she would be under the blanket.

But he was okay with it.

He left the spot, piggyback her all the way to the hotel while she was crying his shoulder wet, saying the same over and over again. Law knew she would fall backward if he didn't bend a little forward since she was just lying on his back, making no effort to hold herself onto him. She had no strength.

"I'm so sorry." Her voice was the only on the dark streets they moved along.

"Stop saying sorry the whole time," Law finally responded after they had mastered half the way while keeping his face ahead, calm and controlled over the situation.

"I'm so sorry," she repeated, grabbing onto his shirt tighter than before with the sound of regret. "I'm so sorry."

A drunken Quinn wasn't as fun as he had imagined it. But well, what had he expected from a heart broken girl anyway? That she would do somersaults? No, from his observation, he knew that alcohol just boosted one's current mood. If they were happy, they'd be happier - if they were sad, they'd be sadder. At the end, when the limit was reached, there was that emotional burn out. He, himself, had never drunken to a point he would have no control over himself. He was even convinced that his body was strong enough to not get him drunk at all. But for someone like her, he should have expected she would be gone only by that bit she had consumed.

"Law..."

Hearing his name under her numb lips, his attention turned up a bit, more than only by the recurring apology he couldn't allocate.

"I'm so sorry that I was born..."

His brows narrowed deeply to his eyes, tensing somewhat the bridge of his nose.

"I shouldn't be here and still, I have so many demands..."

"What are you talking again, Peanut?"

She moved a little, clamping her arms tighter around his neck like a weak hug. "I have no right to ask for so much... I'm so sorry..."

Law stopped and tilted his head to her as she lay with her face on his shoulder, eyes closed. He could only see the back of her head until she lifted it to look at him with her wet and tired eyes.

"I tell you something..." said she, hardly comprehensible. "I was an accident... ma mom and ma dad met at a house party and made me. And none of them wanted me until I was born."

"This doesn't make you less of a person."

It had been so calm when she told that, but the thought brought her back to her tears and she hid her face into his shirt again. "I'm so sorry I was born. I'm so sorry I ask for so much."

Law had heard many tragic stories, he had been in one himself, and though this small one hit him more than it supposed to. Carrying her the whole time, he had to endure her recurring talk about how sorry she was to be on this world; how sorry she was to make everyone's life harder; how sorry she was that she cried so much. She couldn't stop talking herself down, stating that she hadn't deserved love from anyone, wondering why everyone were friends with her.

The walk that normally took ten minutes doubled in time, but Law didn't feel the stretch as he was absorbing her cry and talk.

Unburdened, he halted in front of her hotel room and opened it, carrying her inside. Meanwhile, she had stopped crying and still hung on his back in her own tears and snot. Slowly, he let her down to the mattress. Then he fumbled on the straps of her sandals until they were loose so that he let them falling straight to ground under her feet. Law leaned over her to have a better hold in order to place her on the bed correctly. As he moved her, she was mumbling gibberish in a state almost lost to sleep, but the quick jerk got her eyes open. Not seeing it, Law wanted to straightened back, but stopped when her arms landed on his shoulders.

From beneath, she looked at him. "Don't go..."

His eyes widened slightly in surprise.

Quinn put her arms around his neck and pulled him down to her, hugging him. "Don't leave me alone... please..."

She was lonely, he could see by that behavior so easily. And he had never received a hug of her more genuine than this one.

"Law... please don't go away..."

Carefully, he pushed himself a little up, feeling her weak attempt against his lift. Though she couldn't keep him down, her arms were still around his neck and she was staring at him with those pair of eyes as if everything that ever defined her left her hanging and made her clinging into the little piece of hope that was left. He grabbed a tissue from the box on the dresser next to them and wiped over her face. Her right hand moved over his cheek and she caressed it with her thumb, looking at it with no blink but those bleak eyes.

"Peanut," said he and she shook her head slowly.

"Say Quinn..."

Law furrowed his brows, half unsure, half disconcerted. "Quinn."

"Do ya wamme to disappear from ya life?"

Puzzled by that question, his forehead wrinkled and he intensified his focus on her eyes, trying to understand what her thoughts were.

"Do ya?" she repeated.

"No," he answered.

She let both her hands falling to her chest, staring at him for a few seconds before saying, "then please don't send me away again..."

He paused.

Why was he feeling so much sorry all of a sudden?

Her eyes closed slowly as her force couldn't hold them open anymore. It appeared like she was sleeping from one moment to the other. Law kept his eyes on her exhausted yet resting face, having no words for what she had said last. He was only staring, staring how she was about to fall asleep beneath him, not minding his presence at all.

"Peanut," said he quietly, but nothing came in return. He bit his lower lip.

How much was she going to remember when she would wake up the next day? How much would they talk about this night?

He leaned closer down until only small inches were between their faces, his arms supporting his weight. His eyes in his taut face closed and he inhaled soundless, but exhaled quietly through his mouth, his breath touching her lips.

How much would she recall this?

Never had he a bigger urge to kiss someone more than he had then. For every word she was sharing with him, he felt more bonded to her, more responsible for her safety and comfort. It would be just a brief moment if he kissed her in that one, one that she wouldn't remember, but one that might quench his need.

"Puhk."

Law paused again.

"I've ta puke."

He smiled and gasped out a laugh as her words brought him to realization. What was he doing? What had he even been thinking? Had he really tried to kiss a drunk girl?

Carefully, Law pushed himself back up with open eyes, staring down at her on the bed.

Quinn laid there, still not bearing a look but only repeated with sluggish voice, "puke. Laahw... puhk."

"How can I like someone like you?" he asked himself in self-irony before he helped her up.

"Ah feel suhck."

The restroom was across, so he took her there, holding her hair back as she was vomiting into one of the toilets. Her balance was unstable, it would have been easier to carry her back instead of supporting her gear, but she insisted to walk. Not a word came from her mouth as she swayed her way back to the hotel room, only leaving her head hanging while Law tried his best to keep her straight.

"Wait..." said she then, stopping as they weren't far from the door to her hotel room.

Law stopped and looked at her, seeing her remaining silence and not moving a bit. He straightened more and made sure she was standing on her own before he turned to her front, holding her upper arms. "Oi, Peanut."

Quinn looked up at him. "I'm sou sorray..."

"Apology accepted."

"Nooo..." said she and shook her head while having her eyes close. "I'm really sorray..." Unable to hold her balance, she fell forward against his shoulder and he stepped a little back, leaning against the wall while his hands were still around her upper arms. "Doc... ya there?" He took a slightly longer breath, staring ahead while waiting for what she would say next. "I'm really sorray fo er'thing..." Her knees began to get weaker, made them both sliding down to the ground with Law's back still pressed to the wall.

She sat inbetween his legs and he let go of her arms when he was sure she couldn't fall anymore. His face tilted down to her head that leaned against his shoulder. "What's 'everything'?"

"Er'thing..." she repeated. "Just er,thing..."

"Peanut."

Since her whole body leaned against his, he felt it moving again and prepared him for another cry attack. Her break up with Sabo was the last straw that broke the camel's back. He knew she was officially done with her emotions and seeing her exposing all those thoughts under such circumstances made him feeling worse than ever. He finally understood, there was nothing terrific about that break up. It was pure selfishness from him to want their relationship not to work out only to be spared from jealousy, even when he never planned to try with her.

"Please don't send me away again," Quinn blubbered into his shoulder with uncontrollable sobbing. "I'll be a good girl, I'm no threat."

His forehead tensed and his arms twitch, hesitating to wrap them around her.

"I'm sou sorry... I can be like ya want me to be, please don't go."

Whom was he trying to impress? Himself? There was someone who needed a hug and that someone wasn't just _someone._ She was someone whose feelings had been played on from the day she was born, Law was astounded that her mind turned out so sane. An unwanted child in the hand of drug addicts who couldn't decide to love or hate her.

"Please Doc... I'll do ma best, don't go away."

His arms lifted and he placed them around her body. "I won't go anywhere."

Nothing more but endless loud sobbing and crying followed and he did nothing but stayed with her on the floor, hugging her to himself tightly while giving her the time to cry out after the stress triggered her emotional abuse. Now and then his phone chimed, but he ignored the sound and vibration in his pockets, not daring to withdraw a hand from her. Maybe he wasn't the guy she dreamed of; the guy anyone wanted to be together with; but right then he knew he was the guy she entrusted her weak sides to, and this was everything he could give her to make her feel better.

Time passed and her cry became quieter, piece by piece. She wiped her face with her shirt while her body slid down a little more until her head leaned against his chest with close eyes. "Doc..." said she and Law waited for her to continue as she paused for a moment. Sitting somewhat lateral, she pulled her legs closer and snugged against him. "Yo comfy... I wanna fall asleep here."

He put one hand on her head to prevent her lifting it from him. "Then do."

And so she said nothing more and did. Peacefully.

It was an incredible surreal moment that managed to blend out anything around him but her. At that moment, Law didn't question what was exactly happening, why was that happening, what she was to him and what he was to her. He only knew she needed a shoulder to cry and lean on, to calm herself and forget about everything bad that had happened.

And even though he was certain that she wouldn't remember a thing the next day, he was fine to play that role. Perhaps he didn't even want her to remember.

"Quinn Heady. I make sure no one's gonna hurt you again."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Sorry to all who find it hard to read through an OC's story and her depressive mood in the last few chapters. Promise she'll be smiling more again and also promise to hear more of Law's life at some point. On the other hand, I hope I could satisfy you with a little more Quinn/Law interaction from this chapter._

 _ **Nightmare22** \- Well, she at least told she's working in a marketing company haha. Happy that you liked the beach scene and noticed the character development :) Thank you!_

 _ **Guest(2)** \- Oh, I appreciate the respect toward her! Thank you!_

 _ **Sarge1130** \- I thought to get over Sabo so fast and jump right into the next romance wouldn't match her character. And I didn't want to skip too much in the timeline. Though to be fair, the chemistry between Quinn and Law already developed into something deeper as you could tell by this chapter. Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing!_


	49. Acting, pretending or just lying

**49\. Acting, pretending or just lying**

From all mornings Quinn had ever felt hard to survive, she was sure to remember none to be as exhausting as the fellow. Waking up with eyes barely open, she thought her brain had gained some terrible weight. The feel it would lay loose in her head, swaying from left to right and disturbing her balance made it hard to get her out of bed. Judy was nowhere to see in the hotel room, no matter how bright the sun shone inside. Nothing but the place she couldn't even remember to had gone to.

"Crap..." she grumbled and held her head with both hands. It was like a flu that forced her to stay in bed; one that was new to her. Only that it wasn't a flu but the consequence of the amount of alcohol she had last night.

Suddenly in panic, she pushed her torso up and looked on each side from her bed to find an empty bucket on the floor as if someone placed it there on purpose. Quinn grabbed it and threw up right away. She faced the bucket for a while, her eyes staying closed and too heavy to open up again. The headache even took her energy to recall the previous day.

As the door opened and Judy went inside, Quinn only knew by hearing her heels on the linoleum. The woman walked past her as if in search for something, but soon noticed that her friend was awake.

"Oh, you're up," Judy said, rummaging in her handbag on the small table next to the window, "how you doing?"

"Urgh..." Quinn moaned and vomited one more before she could even reply properly, contorting Judy's face to pity and disgust. Slowly, Quinn looked up and her breathing sound heavy, almost torturous. She couldn't bring out a proper word and only made gibberish noises with her mouth.

"Welcome to your first hangover," Judy said and closed her bag.

"My... last..."

"They all say that. Let's see." Closing her eyes again, Quinn fell back to bed and buried her face into the pillow. Judy turned to her, surveying the pitiful girl. "It's twelve, the boys and me will go looking for something to eat. I guess you gonna stay here?"

Quinn only nodded in her pillow with an agreeing sound.

"Good, perhaps we go straight into the city. Just call me if you think you've got the energy to come too. If not, we'll see each other this evening, alright?"

Quinn agreed again.

Walking to the door, Judy stopped once more and shifted her eyes back to her friend on the bed. She had curled herself into the blanket, hiding her face from the day light so that Judy went back to close the curtains. Remembering her own first hangover, she was sure that Quinn wouldn't be able to move out at all for the next few hours. Latest their planned night out at the casino she would be able to leave the hotel, thus she forced herself to say, "if you need anything, Law's staying."

And Quinn forced her mouth to make another sound.

* * *

When Law heard the others where leaving, he knew Judy had talked to Quinn somehow and probably told that he was a few rooms farther. Last night had ended different to what he had expected and he was unsure if she remembered whatever she had said and done. Of course, he was a calm person and treated a lot of things matterless. His next face off with Quinn shouldn't be different to any other, with or without memories to the previous night, but Law felt uncomfortabe in his position.

He was lying on his bed and stared against the ceiling, thinking about what she could say if she would see him and how to reply. If she wouldn't remember, he wondered if he should tell her or if keeping quiet for the sake of anyone was the better choice.

It couldn't get worse for him as for her. He was sure that she wouldn't tell anyone but Judy, who then would be the annoying part after he had told her he would do fine and she wouldn't need to watch him.

Dived into his thoughts since the morning he woke up, Law fell asleep for the next few hours until afternoon. In that time, he hadn't heard from Quinn or any of the others. Also when he got up again, it was quiet as before and so he left the hotel to get himself something to eat.

He wandered through the streets not far from their accommodation. At day those were more vivid, but probably couldn't compare to the center they would head to later in the evening. Judy had taken the car, so his eyes were open for any public transport, finding a bus station not far from the hotel. He kept it in mind and passed it, getting inside a supermarket nearby.

Figuring what to have for lunch, he definitely walked past the rice balls without thinking twice to buy any of them. The hotel had a kitchen free to use, but he was too lazy to prepare food for himself right then and also not in a shared kitchen. So he went for some of those expensive ready-to-eat lunch boxes and a water bottle. On his way to the check out, Law stopped and tilted his head back to the corridors. He was thinking and he was considering.

 _In the end, I have to babysit though._

...

Back at the hotel, Law walked up to Judy and Quinn's room. His mind was filled with the same many thoughts as before his nap, uncomfortable for his standard. From the outside he kept to his image though, being rather the calm and cool one. Actually, Law was always the type to think a lot about things that concerned him. He reflected about old events and trying to calculate how future events would look like. Sometimes it didn't seem so when knowing of his good wits for his surroundings, but just because he was in thoughts, it didn't mean he was easily distracted.

But there were also times he knew he was breaking his mind unnecessarily, like the moment about how to face Quinn. So with his guts back to cool, he went straight to the door and knocked, keeping calm and let things just happen. His natural way to react had rarely disappointed him.

After the first knocks Quinn didn't answer the door though, even after he had knocked a second time and waited. Perhaps she was still sleeping, perhaps she didn't feel well?

"Oi, Peanut," Law called out and knocked again. He grumbled when he was still left standing. His hand moved to reach for his phone, but then realized that he didn't have her number. A big mistake when being friends with her. He pulled his hand back, trying to knock again. "Peanut, wake up!"

Later he might think that it was idiotic, but Law couldn't help but imagine her to be dead in her room. Maybe a heart attack? Perhaps the alcohol was indeed too much? Anything else? Depression? Suicide?

"Hey, Peanut! You hearing me?" he shouted and hit against the door.

The door then unlocked and opened, showing Quinn through the dark gap. The light from the hallway lit those swollen eyelids and dried lips on her face. "Hm...? Is it already night?"

Seeing her being only sleepy, he inhaled quietly and his mouth tensed in relief and slight discomfort. Yes, as assumed, he felt idiotic.

"Oh, Doctor," Quinn mumbled as she recognized him, looking up to his sullen face while rubbing her eye. "What's the matter?"

His gaze drifted away. "Do you feel better?"

"Uhhhh..." She needed a moment to understand what his question was, nodded then frantically when she remembered that she obviously had a hangover. "I'm alright, don't worry!" Though she was sure he didn't really care anyway and partly asked for the matter of being a doctor than genuine care. "Just a bit dizzy and so; I guess a typical hangover."

She stepped back and let the door stood wide open for him to enter. Also, to let some daylight in she went to the window and opened the curtains. When she turned around to look at him again, he had already gotten inside, though not much but close to the door. In his hand he had a shopping bag, let her assume fast that he had been out before coming here.

"You didn't go with the others?"

"No," said he and put the bag down on the bed, "I thought staying relaxed the next day after such night was the better idea."

"True," Quinn answered wryly, watching how he settled on the bed.

She kicked her own butt down next to him, grinning. "So? How much were you drunk?"

He looked at her, his face rather lazy. "I wasn't."

"What? Not?" asked she surprised, but withdrew it instantly. "Okay, of course not. I bet you had almost no secrets."

"You can't remember?"

Slightly embarrassed with a crooked smile, she looked down. "Ah, no, I was... completely gone."

First he didn't respond but only stared as her eyes moved back to him and she smiled awkwardly, questioning his glare with subtle head shake. "I bought you something to eat and drink," said he then and pulled out a small paper bag to hand it over.

She glanced at it briefly before looking at him again, pointing with her finger from him to herself. Again, he just stared and Quinn took it as a 'yes' and took the bag without loosing sight of him. On her lap, she opened it to see a pretzel and a water bottle with lemon slices floating atop.

"You should rehydrate your body. The lemon detoxifies it," Law told, "and though you don't feel like eating, try at least a bit. Plain carb will help increase your blood sugar since your level dropped with your hangover."

"Why are you so nice to me?" Quinn asked. "I mean, you're not just _nice_ , this is extra nice, or not?"

"You can just say 'thank you', or I'll take it back."

"Ah no-no!" she said and closed the bag. "Thank you! But I'll have this later, you know, just woke up and so..."

The insecurity was written on her face when he kept being silent, but it changed soon to a smile and she turned to him with one knee on the bed and open arms to give him a hug. From all her friends, he was the person she rarely hugged, clearly seen by his subtle startle. Quinn wanted to change that. She knew Law had a unique personality that required its own special way to deal with it. But he wasn't a bad guy. He was difficult, but getting to know him better, he deserved the same love as anyone else - though he rejected it almost completely. Almost.

Quinn let go of him, still smiling. "You, Doctor," said she and pointed with both fingers to his chest, "need some fun, and I'm not talking about the thing adults do in bed together."

"The only thing I need is-"

"Some quiet time," she finished his sentence, made him raising a brow. "Isn't that what you wanted to say?"

First he kept his surprised brow-lifted look, but then a smirk grew on his face and he chuckled in a way she couldn't be sure if he laughed with or about her.

"What is so funny again?" Quinn asked, unamused.

"How much do you remember from yesterday?"

She furrowed her brows and looked up, trying to recall the night. "Uhm... We played this drinking game; you've been mean; we laughed a lot; I got tipsy..." Her eyes darted back at him, squeezed to slits. "Did I tell you all about the nut-kick story of my father?"

"Yeah."

She covered her face with her hands. "Oh gawd, how embarrassing... I think that was the last thing I remember..."

"Nothing else?"

Peeking through a gap between her fingers, she cautiously shook her head. "No...? Should I?"

Not different to before, Law was only staring at her. Again, he was unsure how much he should tell without making the situation awkward or either of them uncomfortable. He was aware of that moment offering the chance to tell her.

As he was thinking, she became anxious and sucked her lower lip, putting her hands down. "Why don't you answer...?"

Yes, it would be weird to tell her how clingy she had been. All in all she just broke up with Sabo and had that little sense of pride toward him.

Law got back to smirking and moved his face forward, settling comfortably down on his back with closed eyes. "Don't you wonder how you got back to the hotel?"

"Now where you mention it..." She eyed him and his eyes moved up to her. "Do I want to know?"

"You tell me."

"Is it embarrassing?"

"Depends on you."

Quinn gulped quietly. "Did _you_...?"

"Yeah."

"Can you stop smirking?"

"No."

Quinn blushed and looked through him. "This-this-this-this, this isn't weird at all. You also helped Judy back to bed, remember? It's not embarrassing to have a friend helping you out, nopes, I'm not embarrassed about that. Nope, nope, nope. Thank you."

Looking carefree again, he moved his eyes back to the top. "Yeah, guess it would be more embarrassing to you when I've told, you had talked and vomited a lot."

"Hey! I had more than five shots, this was my first time, it's totally normal to throw up! And maybe you shall drink more too and you'll be more talkative."

"Maybe," said he, closing his eyes.

Quinn's sight narrowed and her arms supported her as she leaned a little down to look at him from the side like she would look under a bed. "You know what? I don't care if you saw me throwing up or even helped me. You're a doctor, and not just some doctor but a surgeon. You've seen worse."

"I have."

"Yap. ...what have I talked about?"

He turned on his side with the back to her, exhaling. "I don't know, didn't understand a word, just gibberish."

"As if," Quinn said, pushing her body slightly up again to look over him as he stayed lateral like he was sleeping. "You mean, it was THAT incomprehensible? Hooow? I must have told you embarrassing things, at least when we played with the others."

"Yeah, something about you tried to pee while standing because you were curious how the opposite gender does."

"What?!" Quinn answered and couldn't help but laughed. "Oh my god, but I also added that I was like five, right?"

"That, of course, changes the story a lot," he replied.

"Whaaaat, you didn't really think I did that as an adult?" As he didn't answer (again!), she felt mocked and leaned closer over him. "Heeey, don't ignore me."

"You're noisy."

"Of course I am if you left me clueless like this," said she with half-lidded eyes. "Tell me, tell me, tell me more. Pleaaase." Law still remained quiet, acting like he was sleeping so that she put one arm on the other side of him and leaned down to his ear, saying, "idiot."

"Is this how you call the guy that helped you?" asked he, the sudden response making her lids sagging more.

She rolled her eyes up and smiled, apologizing in slight mock, "I'm sorry that I called you idiot, can you please tell me now what else I did last night?"

Law opened his eyes a little, still staring ahead. "Why don't you let me sleep already?"

She looked back down at him. "Ehh, because this is my room? And you woke me from a nice dream." His gaze moved up to her from the corner of his eyes, only staring so that her cheeks slightly colored again. "What's with you and that staring? This makes me uncomfortable."

Hearing that he closed them again and chuckled, the air coming out his nostrils.

"And now you're laughing about me again," she responded. "This is like a math formular. Aaaaalways the same; explain yourself, Dr. Robot."

Lying there only smirking, she sighed and lay down herself behind him. "I give up."

The two stayed silent for a moment and it felt familiar to both since a clock hung in the room, ticking nonstop. And like many times, they let it continue being the only sound inside.

Until Law slowly pushed his torso up, surprising Quinn when _he_ was the one then to lean over her, both of his arms on each side next to her face. With big eyes, she checked left and right, her hands pulled to her chest as her body shrugged in startle. "Okay?"

"I'm just doing what you were doing," said he, his voice sounding quiet and even somewhat calming. He leaned down on his lower arms, hence got closer and widened her eyes more.

"What? Me? When? What are talking about?" she asked, looking quickly away.

"Just then, a few minutes ago."

"Ouhhh..." Quinn inhaled that her chest raised visibily. "Yeah... I mean, you turned away and I, well, supporting myself with my arms is easier than with any other muscle. I mean... yeah... you shouldn't have turned your back to me."

"Peanut," he said, making her focus.

Blushing, she looked at his face, her own unrelaxed if not nervous. "Y-yeah?"

"Are you stupid or are you just pretending?"

"What? Excuse me?"

He narrowed his brows and she took another deep breath, pressing her lips to an arch. His forehead tensed, but his eyes looked lax and lazy as ever. Quinn was unsure what to interpret into that and if he was thinking or just plainly expecting her to answer his question. There was a slight tension, a silence she felt awkward with and so she broke it with the next thing that got into her mind. "You're even handsome up-close."

His eyes suddenly narrowed too and he then looked not just pensive but somewhat mad.

"I mean-, I'm sorry, it's-, yes! Okay, yes. Yes, you are handsome! Live with it! I, Quinn Heady, find you, Law Trafalgar, handsome!" she said, speaking the latter sentence clear. "I'm not ashamed of saying that anymore! Everyone who has a sense of aesthetic would agree...! Feel free to mock me for complimenting you and boosting your already-high ego. Lol!"

And he was still just staring, still with the same look.

Quinn covered her face with her fists. "Ahh, okay-okay, I can't take that back, right? Oh no, I'm embarrassed now, please go away."

She couldn't see it coming when he suddenly hugged her tightly on the bed, her hands uncovering her face a bit by the push of his torso against her own. Shocked, she turned red. "Law? Are you flirting with me? This is a veeeery obtrusive way to do. I feel weird. What are you doing? Is this part of some joke?"

"When I carried you home," he started quietly, his head lying next to hers, "you told me about your parents."

Quinn paused instantly. She moved her eyes to the side to look at him, only seeing the messy black hair, and then moved it back to the top. "I told you what...?"

She felt him inhaling, knowing he was trying to find words to communicate. Even she had asked for answers, she hadn't expected him to do something like then since it was untypical for him. The purpose of hugging her was unclear, but knowing that he has a soft side too, she explained to herself that he wanted to create a more caring and trusting atmosphere before telling her anything sensitive.

Law then gave it a go and summarized the thoughts that lingered deep inside her which she had entrusted him the last night. Maybe not the one about him staying and how comfortable he was to lean on, but the one that tormented her mind probably for years. It was a short summary, but hearing that Quinn's eyes caught tears and she was trying to hold back those.

"I told you that...?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "If that's anything you didn't want me to know, I'll try to forget them."

She didn't know what to say and moved her eyes around, anywhere they could reach to not have the feel of being froze and responseless. Of course, her natural reaction was shock, but she tried to make out her next reaction, wondering if she should cry then or just play it down. For a moment she had even blended out his hug, but got back to it soon, looking at his shoulder. That he was hugging her so tightly, or even in general, must have meant that she had showed him a vulnerable side that was secret to nearly everyone. Those were sensitive and private thoughts that accompanied her for a very long time, but none she would leave dominating. She hadn't even expected she would come back to those and blamed the alcohol.

"With what magic?" asked she suddenly, surprising Law when he heard the small giggling. He moved a little up to look at her, seeing how she was wiping her eyes after her hands could move and smiled at him. "Unless you can do some magic, I can't imagine you to forget things on command."

Those were his words. It made him responding with a small smile that grew to a small smirk. "Just taking mass of heroine and provoking some amnesia."

"Touché," she said, her tongue showing between her teethy smile. "Maybe my father had forgotten about me too with some."

"Don't say that," he replied, looking neutral again.

Quinn snickered. "I'm sorry."

"Saying _I'm sorry_ ; You were really annoying last night," he told. "If I get a buck for every time you said that, I'd be rich now."

"Aren't you already?"

His eyes moved up with one brow raising. "Well, a car repair isn't that cheap and especially _my_ model."

"Heeey, I thought Penguin could make it cheaper for you?"

"What's your imagination for 'cheap'?" he said, his mocking smirk returning. "It's surely still more than we all pay for this holiday together."

"Ouh crap... I'm sorry."

"And another."

"But, uhm, Doc?" she said then, making him looking in wonder what she was going to say next. "Will you go down from me now...?"

"No."

"Sorry?"

"I don't want to."

"This is sexual harassment."

"Don't talk nonsense, Peanut," he responded and leaned back to hug her as if it was normal between them, causing a shiver down her spine before her face turned completely red. "There's nothing sexual in here, unless you interpet way more than a simple, friendly, hug."

"YOU don't just hug people unless there _ARE_ sexual intentions...!"

"Why should I try on someone who doesn't want when I can easily find someone who does want? Who do you think I am?" he mumbled next to her ear, his arms enclosing her like they were made to hug her, snugged to her comfortably.

Quinn's heart started to beat much faster and she didn't know how to calm it. Though it wasn't the first time for him to get close, it also wasn't common. Quinn felt like she finally reached him to an extent to call him a genuine friend when she compared how he had been behaving months ago. It was more satisfying than ever, all the hard work to win his care she had desperately breaking her mind for. She then could say that whenever his face showed around, something good would happen. That there was always someone she could go and talk to. Law wasn't much of a talker, but a great listener. And she always welcomed it when he was the one coming towards her.

But what he was doing then was just... strange.

His body was warmer than she remembered and he had no real outstanding scent but his after shave and the cool shampoo in his hair. Actually, _those_ made him smelling like him.

The longer she was within his grip, the stronger the tension in her body became that she thought she would almost die by suffocating. And when she thougth she could hear her own heart, she was scared that he might hear it too, embarrassing her. "I-I don't know! Maybe it's some fetish you have, laying hands on a poor defenseless girl."

She felt his body vibrating above her, his chuckle next to her.

"Noooo, staaahp!" Quinn said loudly and jiggled, "let gooo, don't laugh at me, staaahp it!"

Law then got up, carrying his trademark smirk. "You shall brush your teeth and take a shower."

Not waiting a second, she clasped her hands over her mouth with her face still red as a tomato. "I'm sorry, when I woke up I had to puke again and I had no energy to do all the stuff yet! This is not my fault...!"

Nonchalant, he shoved one hand into his trouser pocket and took the shopping bag he had left lying. "Theoretically, it is."

"Goooooo!"

He chuckled again and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Quinn was still watching the door, gritting her teeth a little like a snarling dog. _Stupid Trafalgar. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid Law Trafalgar. If you aren't so sweet, I'd report you to the police!_

* * *

Either she was as dense as a rock, or he expected too much from her.

When Judy was right with his feelings toward that girl being so obvious, why couldn't _she_ see it? He wasn't even sure if Shachi and Penguin were really that clueless or already assumed behind his back. But then there was the other question though: why was it bothering him the slightest? It was good that she didn't become suspicious since he actually didn't want anyone to know. Preferably, he wouldn't like to know it himself.

Still standing in front of her room, he sighed and made his way back to his own hotel room, eating his lunch. However, telling her some kind of the truth went smoother than he had imagined. That unspoken burden was spoken then and he felt much better. She was reacting in a way he should have foreseen. Of course, Quinn was very emotional, but she was also someone that smiled a lot and looked over bad things. Maybe not easily, but she did manage to do it, convincing even him who doubted a lot.

Basically, she grew up without parents more than half of her life, more than him. And she had been an orphan for a while, just like him. Law didn't know what was worse. To know how it was to have someone and been force to live without; or to know as good as nothing and been force to never know.

Soon, the thought brought a subtle upturn of his mouth corners. If he would ask her, she probably would say something like 'but now I got you guys and you're basically, even not by blood, family!'. In his head, he even had her whole expression imagined, including her voice and tone.

...

Later in the evening, Law was waiting for her to get outside so that they could meet up with the others in the city center. She rushed down when the time was already tight to catch the bus, carrying the stuff she would wear tonight at the casino in her handbag.

When she got to him, she thought her eyes were falling out, confusion washing over her. "Why the hell are you wearing your suit already?"

Law turned to her in a tailored dark navy suit, surprising her that he even got more than the one she had seen at the funeral and it was pure eye-candy. Underneath his jacket, he wore a vest that matched the rest of the outfit. Only his neck tie had the same color as his black shoes, such as his shirt differentiated in being white. "I later have no possibility to iron it when taking it out of the bag."

"That sounds... logic," Quinn said. "You really look like having loooots of money."

"I find it funny how people assume someone's social status so easily," Law replied, checking the time on his watch, "they never assume that someone could have put all their money into one wealthy looking item. If they would know how many people actually suffocate in debt for having a car or house they can't afford." He soon noticed the uncommon silence from her side so that he looked back to her and no, it even seemed like she hadn't listened but only glared at him the whole time. "Oi, Peanut."

Perplexed, she looked back up into his face. "Huh?"

"Let's go," said he and walked off with his usual hands-stuffed-inside-his-trousers gear.

Quinn looked down herself, eyeing her simple shorts plus zip-hoodie and sneaker style before she paddled after him. "Do you know how we look right now? Like the rich and the poor."

"Is that so?" he answered halfhearted, keeping his gaze ahead.

She walked next to him. "Yap! I wouldn't be confident enough to dress up so early, that forces me to play my role even when it's not necessary."

"You can just wear it without acting rich," he said and she shook her head.

"Nooo, the costume puts me into a role, you know?" she explained to him like it was not just a matter-of-fact but as if he had offended her in some kind of way with his statement. "This is how acting works, Mister."

"You're a terrible actress," he stated simple.

"Hey, I'm not that bad!"

They came in time as the bus halted in front of the bus stop. Both entered and bought a ticket to the city center, being probably the only two with the goal to get into one of the most popular casinos when ogling the others passengers (that ogled back). What rich-bitch took the bus?

Law chose the last seats at the back of the vehicle, Quinn going after him. "You're a terrible liar, that makes you automatically a terrible actress."

"Come on, my lies are not that terrible," she said, trying to laugh his assertion off. "Sometimes I'm just struggling to keep it up, and well, I have a bad conscience when lying, so that's why I do bad at lying. But if it wasn't like that, I'll be really good at lying, and also- ...okay, I'm a bad liar." She leaned back and stared ahead, smiling. "You know what? Anyway, I'm looking forward to tonight! I've been to a little casino once and surprisingly had a good start. Guess my luck is always with me when it comes to bets or games of chances."

"Don't overestimate your luck," said he. "We're not going there to lose all our money, it's just another type of sightseeing."

"One that you're interested to see!"

"Kinda. Who doesn't want to see once how the upper class uses some of their free time."

"Well, Sabo wouldn't." He side-glanced her. Her eyes focused nothing particular. "I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you, but I don't think you'll talk to him anyway." She then tilted her head to him and smiled again. "And I trust you."

Law rose a brow.

"Sabo ran away from his family because they belonged to the upper class. He said they were terrible people and even replaced him with another boy they had adopted." She pointed with her finger to the left side of her face. "His scar came from another noble's attack on a demonstration of anti-capitalists when he was close by. The guy was caught and came into jail, but unfortunately could buy himself out of it. Justice here can be so awful when you got money, right?"

"Indeed," Law said, "he must had lived a tough childhood. My respect."

Quinn nodded. "Even he's stupid, he's a very kind and goodhearted guy. At least he liked me genuinely enough to tell me about this."

"Or he's the type to carry no secrets."

"Nope, he has liked me genuinely enough."

"If you say so."

She narrowed her brows with a small eye roll. "God, can't you just agree with me?"

Law lifted his chin a little, looking down to her while smirking. "Why should I agree when yourself know it's just an assumption?"

"Meh." She pushed his arm a little. "I hate you, you're stupid."

"The pleasure's all mine."

...

The city center was... fantastic. That was at least how Quinn described it whereas Law on the other hand wondered how many hospitals on the world in the poorer regions could made use of the amount of electricity that was used only for the advertisement signs at every corner he looked. Excited as they had gotten off the bus, Quinn eyed the tall buildings, the colorful lights and the dozen of fancy looking cars and people that surrounded them.

"Oh my god, this is awesome," she said, awed.

Of course, between the rich folk were a dozen of tourists looking as normal as her and others that made the attempt to look classy just as Law did, but failed miserably.

"And now, let's see how we gonna find the rest," Law muttered a bit, eyeing the place himself. Quinn started to walk off, not out of her astonishment, made him hurrying after her. "Oi, Peanut!"

She turned to him as if her face had frozen in her last expression. "Oh my god, Doc. It looks so exciting here!"

"Don't just walk away," he scolded, "full places like that are dangerous."

"Woah, are you caring about me?" she asked, her smiling growing big. "This _really_ is a magical place."

"Don't act like it's strange," he replied, uninspired by her tease. "If it's not me, you'd be dead already."

Pressing her head against his arm while offering him a dumb smile from beneath, she said, "of couuuurse, you're the best and so on, blah blah. Thank youuu."

"Give me your cellphone," he ordered, not affected by her playful sarcasm.

"Hm? Why?" asked she and straightened, taking the device out her bag.

He took it and had his own on the other side, starting to type on both. "In case something happens, you got my number saved."

Surprised about the casualty, she received her phone back and stared at it and then at him in disbelief. "No way, we've been friends for so long and now I got the honor to receive your number? Who are you?"

"You never asked for it."

Quinn's eyes got smaller. "What?"

He smirked.

"Don't talk crap, you wouldn't have given me if I had."

"You've been involved in so much bullshit since I know you, I wouldn't have minded giving you my number."

"Eh? No way, you're lying. What had made you do it _now_?"

Walking from the spot, Quinn following him, he answered, "this time, I prevent bullshit."

"Ohh, now that I have your number, I can contact you wherever and whenever I want!"

"Don't."

"I can show you my favorite emoji!" she said and pulled her cellphone again, texting him right away. It vibrated in his pocket, but he didn't take it out and kept walking. "Don't you wanna look at it?"

"No."

"Oh man, that's not fun," she said, pursing her lips with puffed cheeks. "Judy by the way texted, she said they're in front of a shop with a big glowing star at the front."

"And which of these 'big glowing stars' does she mean?"

"Uhh..." Quinn typed again to ask, receiving an answer straight away. "Green! She even sent a photo of their location, it doesn't look far from here."

"A thief!" suddenly a woman cried out in the mass and the two looked into its direction as anyone else, seeing a guy pushing through the crowd and shocking everyone around.

"Hey, why don't they stop him?" Quinn shouted, watching it aghast. There were so many male pedestrians, it wouldn't be a problem for them at all to get in his way. Even a woman could try tripping him up, thus _she_ was already prepared for it when he ran towards them. _Oh, I will SO make you fall!_ she thought, but when he came closer he looked much taller and scarier than from afar so that she shrugged in fright, making him pushing himself between them. _NO!_

However, the thief couldn't run any further when Law had grabbed his arm and made him turned in anger. He tried to pulled away, but Law was stronger, catching his flying fist with his other hand before he bent his arm to the thief's back who then dropped the handbag. The guy groaned and got down on his knees, obviously defeated so that the rest of the pedestrians joined them and took him over.

"Oh my god, thank you so much!" the mugged woman shouted as she paddled quickly over to them and lifted her handbag from the ground. "Thank you, Mister!"

Law nodded at her once and walked off as if it was nothing.

"Hoooly, that was awesome!" Quinn cheered on him by his side. "You looked so freaking cool! And no violence was needed, awesome! This place is magical!"

"There're the others," Law said, his face pointing at the bunch waiting at the borrowed car and waving at him as they sighted the two as well.

They carefully crossed the street at the next street lights, walking over to them who were already excited to be reunite for a fun night together.

"Oh wow, Cap," Shachi said, "you're already in your suit!"

Law glanced briefly to the car with his companions' clothing hanging inside and back to him. "Yeah. Else it would be wrinkled."

"Looks dope! I'd buy it instantly that you're from the upper class!"

"Are you feeling better now, Quinn?" Penguin changed the topic, "Judy had told us you weren't doing fine this morning."

"Uhhh," Quinn rubbed the back of her head, smiling timidly. "Yeah, this morning I was punished with an awful hangover, but I'm fine now."

"You got your stuff in there?" Judy asked skeptical, eyeing her handbag that was way too small as that she could imagine carrying an outfit inside it properly. Or she was just way too extra again because of the luxury having it in the car. "You're not even wearing makeup, what's the matter with you?"

"Hey, I'll be in my role after dinner!"

"Your role?"

"Yeah, being rich and so, you know?"

Her brown eyes moved to Law, questioning him only with her gaze.

"She's a great actress," he told flatly.

"Hey, don't make fun of me!" Quinn commented. "What's so hard about acting wealthy?"

"Anyway," Judy interrupted the conversation, "I got you a new dress, it's in the car."

"Great, new dress!" Quinn responded with sparkling eyes, following her friend to the vehicle in joy.

As the two were off, the other two turned to Law. "Shopping with Judy's a new discipline in the Olympics," Shachi said.

"Yeah, she's been in one shop for an hour and in the end didn't buy anything," Penguin told, completely shattered by the memory. "And then she went into another and tried on so much, but only bought like two pieces!"

Shachi then nodded right away. "I've never went into so many different shops in my life!"

"Yeah and-" His mate cut his sentence when the two came back.

"Okay, let's go getting something to eat," Judy said, "I know a good yet affordable place."

...

They were stuffed. At least Quinn, Penguin and Shachi. Sitting in a little restaurant somewhat away from the crowd, the group relaxed until shortly after nine when they decided to dress up for the casino. Law was waiting outside again, in front of the restaurant while the others got ready in the bathrooms. He drew his phone when it took a little longer for them, checking out the message Quinn had sent him when they had come here. The favored emoji was a clown, he wasn't really surprised by it and had either expected some animal; something 'funny'; or something simple and absurd.

"How do we look, huuuh?" Shachi said as he walked out, showcasing himself with open arms in a slightly shiny black suit. "Now we're a team, what?"

Behind him Penguin followed, also in a simple black suit, but with a bow tie. "Finally an occasion to wear this. I've paid so much for it for my wedding and in the end I didn't even marry her."

The redhead put his arm around him, grinning in joy. "Young and single, this can't get any better. Tonight, we're gonna muscle in with the upper class!"

"You don't really think that we're the only people with the idea?"

"Hm... still!"

Law looked at the door, ignoring the conversation of the two in front. "Why are they taking so long?"

They looked at him, Penguin saying, "ah, women, they always take a while. All-in-all this is one few occasion to dress up!"

As the restaurant door opened right after with Judy stepping outside, fully styled - simple, crisps and yet elegant - Penguin and Shachi turned pink, marveling at her.

"You look great!" Penguin said. "As with Law, I'll buy that instantly!"

Next to him Shachi, who only nodded and couldn't bring out a word.

"Thank you," she said and again checked out herself briefly through the reflection in the windowpane, moving single streaks of her hair. "I don't know, does my hair look okay?"

"Yes!" Penguin confirmed while Shachi was still just nodding.

Law looked at his watch and saw that it was somewhat more than half an hour that they had taken to get ready. He looked at the door and back into the round. "And what takes your friend so long?"

"I don't know," Judy said, "I haven't seen her, she's been in the stall the whole time and said she'll come out soon, I should go first."

"Hm, maybe she doesn't feel alright because of the alcohol again?" Penguin guessed.

That would be of course shit, Law thought. If that was the case, she would have spent 50% of the holidays resting because of some decision she had made. Dissatisfaction and regret were sure to follow and when it came to things like drinking and getting wasted, it would be seen as some stupid mistake that deserved blame. "If she doesn't come out in five minutes, you should go look for her," he told Judy and she agreed and took out her phone to text the girl beforehand.

While they were waiting those five minutes, Shachi looked at Judy. "Uhm, the red lipstick matches your outfit really good."

"Oh thank you," Judy answered with her hand to her chest, smirking. "And the ponytail yours."

He blushed a bit and smiled to ground. "Thanks..."

Before the five minutes passed, the restaurant door opened again and drew all eyes to it in an instant. The first thing they heard was a hip hop soundtrack and right after it Quinn, stepping out on beat. Penguin's eyes widened, Shachi showed confusion and Judy's jaw only slacked slowly while Law was, well, Law. His eyes half-lidded, wondering what the hell he was seeing.

"A-yo, my name's MC Quinnzealous, whazzup people?" Quinn said with lowered voice, gesticulating like a rapper from a music video to everything she was saying. She wore baggy pants and a baggy shirt, a fake gold necklace hanging from her neck with the giant initials 'Q.H.' and fake gold rings around 50% of her fingers. Even on her hand she had some non-permanent clef tattoo looking incredibly authentic; an expensive watch (and probably the only pricey item in her whole wardrobe) graced her arm next to some cheap, but qualitative-looking bracelets. And to topped this outfit, she wore a snapback. "Ready to get in there, having some fun? It's all of ma money, yeah."

"What, the, hell, Quinn," Judy cut her show with strict voice, a little louder to drown the music that came from her cellphone. "I said, dress as if you're wealthy."

Quinn turned it off. "Yo honey, chill. It's all good, I'm MC Quinnzealous, a famous rapper that have sold more mixtapes than yo ever could dream of, okay?"

"Well, there _are_ many rich rappers," Penguin said with his shoulders pulled up, smiling with suspense lips as the facts didn't speak against her choice of dressing, but was surely strange.

Law only stood there and thought, _that she meant by costume..._ He wondered what he had expected, a gorgeous dressed young woman or even her in a suit? He didn't know, but what he knew, or rather observed, was that she took these holidays to relax more serious than supposed to. Her whole wardrobe the last three days consisted of baggy clothes (except for the bottom pieces) and the way he knew her, he should have known that she would stick to it until they were back.

Quinn giggled. "Yeah, I thought this is something different and way more comfortable than walking in heels the whole night. I got those at home on my daily wear, I don't need them at my holidays."

"Do you think they'll let you inside like that?" Shachi asked, eyeing her up and down. Not that he found it bad, rather funny; but he was worried that the security would kick her for acting a little too extra.

"If not, that would be a very discriminating place I don't even want to enter," she responded.

Judy sighed and face palmed. "Oh gurl, can't we just look hot to the same time once?"

She grinned, biting the tip of her tongue. "Hehe, sorryyy, you gotta look for another blondie then."

"What took you so long?" Law then asked, somewhat grimly.

She turned to him and her mouth corners pointed down instantly, frightened by his suspense face. "Uh, I didn't feel well first, but now I'm all good."

Judy narrowed her brows and placed her hands around her hips with her clutch in one hand. "What? Why haven't you said anything?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, but you all were looking forward to this so much and I didn't want to get in the way... so yeah."

"Geez, imagined you were dying in there."

"But I weren't, sooo."

Judy rolled her eyes and sighed, trying to not hang on things that already had happened and wasn't changable anymore. "Anyway, it's almost ten now, let's get going."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** I received criticism for Quinn being kinda 'borderline-mary-sueish' and sometimes 'cringeworthy'. Personally, I can't see it; so if anything she does more often annoys you to an extent that it would make you wanna punch her, tell me please. Though I can't promise to really change it since her personality has developed into a direction now where I just let her do and say what she wants._

 _Also, I'm so excited to write more Quinn/Law scenes!_


	50. Kisses and their meaning

**50\. Kisses and their meaning**

The casino was giant. It was one of the highest building in the area; actually an expensive hotel that had sponsored the gambling hall and later took over it. There were two entrances, one for normal hotel guests and on the other side one for the casino room. Since it was large, the place spread on two floors with showrooms, bar and restaurant.

"Holy shit," Penguin said with slacked jaw, staring up the tall building.

Next to him stood Shachi who only echoed in the same awing tone. "Holy fucking shit."

"Can we act like Pen-Pen and Shach' are my bodyguards," Quinn asked as they stood in line, almost at the front. It looked like the security didn't really check who the visitors were, but judged by looks.

"If this avoids this," Penguin said and pointed with his thumb at a group that got dragged away because they didn't meet the securities standard and thought they could discuss that out.

"Okay, now I do feel nervous..." Quinn smiled wryly at the two large security guys. "Oh my, what if they don't let me inside?"

"You should have thought of this before you decided to dress up that ridiculous," Judy told her like it would be her own fault. And yes, it would be.

Quinn took a deep breath and clasped once with her hands. "Okay-okay, I'm alright! I'm a rich famous rapper, I can get inside without the lady looks."

Then the bunch stepped forward and Law and Judy got through without a second glance of the securities before they closed the red velvet cordon. They eyed Quinn, Shachi and Penguin and the three tried to act casual, hiding their dry tongues.

"And you are?" asked one security man.

"Me?" Quinn asked, pointing with her hand to herself as if surprised about the question. "MC Quinnzealous."

He looked over to his colleague and that one shook his head. "MC Quinnzealous?" the man then repeated skeptically.

"Maaan, you don't know me?" Quinn said, "I've been jamming in this place for decades now, okay not decades but a few times, and you guys should actually know me now." She looked at her behind from the left and to the right, pointing then with both hands at Shachi and Penguin. "And these are my boys, always here to protect me."

The security exchanged looks again and seemed very unimpressed, making the three nervous on an instant. Quinn bit her lower lip and considered playing the 'call your boss' card.

Judy who was still standing at the entrance with Law, waiting for the trio, rolled her eyes and mumbled. "Gosh, this is so embarrassing, I can't watch this." She walked back to the security guards and tapped on ones shoulder. "Excuse me, Sir. These belong to me."

They turned to her. "Sorry Miss, and you are?"

"Juliya Diana Volkova. I'm the niece of Konstantin Volkov."

Surprised, one security man turned to her in slight excitement. "Konstantin the cook?"

"Right," Judy said, smiling friendly and acting shy about the revelation.

"You know that name?" asked his colleague and the guy laughed a little.

"Of course, my wife is a big fan of him. She got all his cookbooks at home."

When the two security guards talked, Judy and Quinn looked at each other with big eyes, not believing that this conversation was really happening.

"Sorry Sir, can I and my guest get inside now?" Judy asked then.

"Ah wait, how do we know you're not lying?" said the clueless security. Judy opened her clutch bag and took out her driver license, showing it to them. "Indeed. Juliya Diana Volkova, it's written here."

"But I didn't know Konstantin got a niece, he said he had no family," said the other guard perplexed.

"Oh, perhaps he meant with family no wife and children?" Judy said, snickering to charm the man.

"True. Now I see, you do look alike! Anyway, sure your friend can pass."

They opened the cordon again, and Quinn, Shachi and Penguin walked through with strong beating hearts, gulping when their backs showed to the two big guys. With Judy, they walked to the entrance where Law was still waiting.

"Wait," said a guard then and they turned to him, Quinn's hands trembling a little. "What was your name again?"

"MC Quinnzealous...?"

"..."

"..."

"Alright, have a nice time." They all tried to smile and thanked him, disappearing inside. His colleague looked over with questioning expression and the man shrugged his shoulder a little. "I like rap."

...

"Your name's Juliya Diana?" Shachi asked, trying to hold Judy's tempo who kept her face ahead walking down the lobby in sophisticated gear.

"I didn't know too!" Penguin said, "who gave you the name 'Judy'?"

"Quinn." Judy didn't plan on making the name thing topic, thus she quickly ignored anything else the guys, especially Shachi, were asking and went straight to their plan for the night. Only that a real plan didn't exist but was only: enjoying the time and survive among the given society.

The group parted within the casino, everyone eventually found their place to be. Shachi and Penguin swept, first with Quinn, but later on only as a duo, from one gambling table to the other. She on the other hand rather stayed when she found luck at one spot and her luck was to that time ridiculous enormous. Where Judy drifted was uncertain since you could see her all over the place, being at her best with the people around her, as if she was looking for something particular.

That was at least was Law observed. He actually didn't fancy to try any gambling and was even bored. Sitting at the bar and watching the crowd was his only doing while he treated himself for a few drinks. Therefore that this place was crowded by a rich folk were the pricing for its drinks quite human.

He sipped one after another as he watched what was going on between the mass of people in secret or public. That place was more than just a nice carpeted floor and good dressed people spending money and laughing about the class underneath. Beside harmless exchanges from numbers and hotel cards, he saw pills; drugs; hard cash and dangerous amount of tokens. Now and then a fist fight occurred, ending with bloody noses and actually made it not a place he would take anyone to if not necessary. Also, failing flirting attempts of both men and women with hilarious rebuffs; the skimpy dressed hostesses making customers happy, even giving him a wink and flirty smile; but Law watched it all with boredom.

He looked down at his wine glass, considering when to stop before he got up and made a little walk around. It was not hard to find Quinn within the crowd when she was the only goldilock around clothed not adequate. What was she doing again?

* * *

"So, this is what you do for living, 'MC Quinnzealous'?" a suited man asked with his wife locked to his arm, smiling at Quinn as she somehow happened to accompany them and another couple.

She nodded and placed her fingers to her chest, emphasizing the depth. "Yeah, it's passion and good business."

Amused with the others by his side, he smiled and made a brief check of her appearance up and down. "And have you something in case it may _not_ work anymore?"

Quinn was honestly not prepared to slide into a conversation with anyone, hence she hadn't prepared something autobiographic and stuck for an answer then. "Uh..."

"I used to do ballet, but art can be so temporary so that I finished my degree in Law school and am now a paralegal," said his wife and gave Quinn an eye smile that, even though its intensity, made her feel mocked.

"And of course, as her husband and as a Lawyer we do make a great team together in one of the top columns."

"That's great..." Quinn said, "and I make good music..."

"Ah well," said the second couple's woman, rolling her eyes with a teethy smile, " _good_ is subjective, especially in music."

"But as long as it reaches my people, it's good to me," said Quinn.

Her husband looked aside with an eyeless smile, inhaling deeply. "Well. If that's what you say, it must be true. I mean, _you're_ sure the one focusing the whole life doing music." His face turned to his wife and they smiled at each other. "I work at the same law office and my wife, she is manager of one large department of the company."

"Two different degrees, all finished with a Master," she remarked as if that information shouldn't be left out.

"Uhm, I..." Quinn mumbled and her bright eyes slowly found their way down to the floor, "that's cool for you." She would love to say 'have fun defending criminals', but being a lawyer also meant fighting for the good. Actually, she had no clue about their judicial system, she shouldn't say anything.

"What's the matter here, ladies and gentlemen?" behind her Law's voice appeared and perked her chin back up in surprise.

The couples turned all eyes at him, also surprised about the random intersection.

"Sorry, and you are?" asked one of the man, trying to keep a friendly face.

"Dr. Trafalgar," said he, standing now with his wine glass and stoic expression next to Quinn.

The wife raised a brow and eyed him from head to toe. "Mhm, doctor?"

"I lead the Rosinante hospital and its science laboratory."

"The Rosinante hospital?" one repeated with furrowed brows, doubting his statement with a smile.

"You don't know?" said Law, "it's known for its 100% success rate, and our science laboratory works on hard cases of worldwide immediacable illnesses. Actually a basic information if you're read in at least the slightest of our health system and issues."

"Oh, that's unfortunate that we do not know," one man said, all of them admitting with weak smiles.

"It's fine," said Law, "healthy people commonly know nothing about that field, so why should they bother?"

While the man's chest raised quietly as he forced his eyes to stay in contact, his company looked muzzled away and showed clearly their embarrassed defeat. "We're indeed all in the best condition," said he and then motioned between Law and Quinn, "but excuse me though, do you know each other?"

Quinn looked up at Law and also wanted to know what his sudden appearance was all about beside what he was going to say next. When his face tilted down to her, she questioned him with her eyes 'what are you doing?'.

He looked back into the round and put his arm around her waist. "She's my fiancee."

Quinn tried not to gasp and her breath stuck in her throat. She looked to ground, trying to act according to his words. Yes, she was calm, very calm; from the outside.

"Beside her passion for music, she leads our children department and knows what's best for them for complaintless stationing."

"Ah, she didn't mention that she has a life outside of..." The man pointed out Quinn's rapper-appearance with another brief eye scan. "This all."

"No one likes braggarts," Law said, shoving his smirk into their appalled face before he made a turn, still with Quinn in his arm. "Excuse us."

Heart pounding, Quinn followed his lead as they got away from the couples, not knowing where to look.

Slowly, her face lifted to glance at him and seeing his own cool and pointed forward. "What were you...?"

"You should avoid talking to those people."

"Rosinante hospital, is that for real?"

"Of course not," said Law and stopped when they were out of their sight. He withdrew his arm from her waist and stuffed it back into his pocket trouser. "Do us all a favor and don't get into a conversation with any of these people again. I may be not around a second time."

She blushed and faced the floor again, understanding that what she had let happened was not just embarrassing, but also quite stupid. He didn't have to come to save her; he could have watched her making herself a fool; he could have even come and made it worse. "But what if they talk to-" As she glanced up, she saw only his back as he already had walked away from her. "...Me. Thank you..."

...

The first place Quinn had been looking for after what had happened was the restroom. She stayed inside the marbled room for a while, standing in front of the sink and eyeing herself in the giant mirror upfront. Her face. It didn't look tired, just exhausted. Had she looked like that the whole day?

From the corner of her eyes and general glimpses inside the mirror, none of the passing women she could see, had not judged her in any kind of way before they disappeared outside. Quinn felt like in high school again. She grabbed the ends of her shirt and widened it to see how far she could stretch it. The shirt was indeed everything else than flattering, not to forget those pants.

"My name is Quinn Heady and I'll be comfy tonight without matching the others," she mumbled to herself.

...

"Heeey, Quinny," Judy called, more vivid than usual, and settled herself in a light fall next to her friend at the lonely corner of the cocktail bar. "Why you just sitting around?"

Quinn hung with her arm, head supported, lateral, moving her view to Judy who smiled at her with sleepy eyes. Of course she was somewhat drunk. Close to her stood some good-looking young man she had never seen before. "Who's that?"

"This is Sebastian," Judy said, pulling him by his tie closer to her face and he reacted with joy. It looked like he was already head over heels into Judy, who then grabbed both his cheeks to fixed his face to hers. "Sweety, can you do me a favor and get me a drink?"

He grinned. "Sure."

As he walked away, Judy leaned a little forward to Quinn and whispered, "he's the son of some rich old man here, I think he can get us to the roof party."

The reaction was low. "Oh, okay?"

Noticing that flat expression of hers, Judy leaned back and put her arm on the counter as well, supporting her own head too. "What's with you? You look so meeeh."

Quinn bit her lower lip a little, shifting her eyes aside as she thought about how to answer. She didn't even know herself what it was that made her so moody all of a sudden. "How do you think about being stuck to a conversation you shouldn't be in and you can't escape. And one of the few options you have is that someone comes up and calls you your fiance only that you can be free."

Judy stared. She digested. She didn't get it. "...Okay?"

"I mean, and then, you're alone again and feel weird about what happened and so on. And suddenly your mood drops and you think about your whole life and the choices you made."

"I don't know what you're breaking your mind with again, but for me, this is simply _acting_ ," said Judy and smirked at her, "your special field."

"But if no one knows about it, it's lying."

"Oh Quinny, what is?"

"I dunno..." Quinn mumbled and sighed. "I just feel weird, and, I dunno, it's- Everything that happened ever since I got to know Sabo up to now, it suddenly seems so ridiculous to me. Now I'm here, not adjusted to this reality yet and everything feels so strange and like good and bad dreams in change." She turned her knees to the bar and folded her arms over the counter to let the side of her head sag in, staring at Judy then. "Thereby my time _with Sabo_ was more of a dream. I can finally say that I've been acting like a complete idiot and felt so great about it. I've been making a fool out of myself, worrying too much how I look, what others thought about it and dreamt too much about the perfect relationship society tells us to have."

"Yeah, you don't know how much headache you caused," Judy said.

"I'm sorry. Judy, I don't want to be this Quinn again. I want to be the Quinn I have been half a year ago before falling in love with him. And the Quinn that was cautious after getting out that other pseudo-relationship."

"Oh yeah, that Quinn was much smarter, calmer, less annoying, independent."

A smile washed over her face, followed by a small laugh. "I love you tipsy-Judy."

Sighting Sebastian from afar with her ordered drink in his hand, Judy pushed herself up from the chair. "I love you too, MC Quinnzealous." Slowly she paddled away, leaving her last words behind in call, "see this holiday to be the last chapter of the past five months and when you're back, you're like reborn! Show the world your confidence, gurl!"

Quinn lifted her head a little and turned it on the other side to look after her. "Yeah, I'm ready to make this history."

* * *

"OH! MY! GOD!" Shachi yelled at Penguin across the dance floor, "ROOF PARTY, BEST PARTY!"

"WHAT?!" he shouted back, forming a shell around his ear as he couldn't hear his mate through the loud music.

They made it; that guy named Sebastian wanted Judy so badly, he even had managed to bring the whole group to the VIP spot of this building. Right then, he and Judy sat together on a bench in a calm corner and he did everything to land in bed with her tonight while she rather played with him. Yes, she had a few shots before and was in a good state of drunkenness, but as time flew by her mind slowly returned to sobriety.

"Hey, I can get us another couple of drinks," Sebastian said, brushing his nose against hers and couldn't wait to kiss her. "You know, free drinks up here."

"That's really sweet of you," Judy said, sliding her hand up his cheek, "you're amazing, I can't believe you could bring us to this party."

"Enjoy as much as you can," said he, stroking her leg.

As he was about to smash his lips against hers, Judy tilted her face away and kissed him on the cheek. She got up with a smirk. "You're right, we may see each other later." Without answering his confusion, she walked away from the spot to mind the things she rather cared about.

The party had two big rooms connected to each, one serving as the dance floor and the other as the lounge to relax with the free bar and open buffet. A big glass wall parted the party with the platform outside that was long enough to go around one corner and had two gangways on each side. The bigger side, the pool side, was more occupied, thus Judy went to the other spot around the corner where no one was. Not even Law.

She frowned and wondered where that lonely man had been gone to again if he wasn't here at the quietest spot of the party.

* * *

Law didn't know how many drinks he had that night, he had stopped counting, but knew it was more than usual. Standing in the restroom, he took his blazer off and loosened his tie while his eyes never left his own gaze in the bathroom mirror. It got quite warm and he felt it was best for him to go back to the hotel, getting his deserved rest. His general state was rather discomforting, since he felt physically a little out of space. Not 100 percent intact.

As he walked back to the halls, passing a few people, his ears caught some divert comments from giggling mouths he understood without even thinking. Stuff like 'who let her in? Who is she even?' or 'who walks around like that?'. It was like high school all over again. Annoying people who thought they understood life and knew the right way to live.

 _Geez Peanut, you got me a headache,_ he thought and sighed mentally.

When he already heard people tattling in great distance about her, he wondered how much _she_ heard over the night and if she had expected what was coming along her stupid performance. Where was she anyway?

Since they had spread after that Judy-guy had brought them up, he hadn't seen her. Normally, she would be all over the place, but this environment didn't seem to be hers.

"Oh, Law," Judy said as they bumped into each other when he was on his way back inside the lounge. They stopped in front of another, Judy in joy. "I've been looking for you, where've you been the whole time?"

"Here and there," said he, scanning the place for the blonde instead of looking at the woman he actually talked to. "Have you seen the others?"

"No, but I think Shachi and Penguin are on the dance floor."

"Dance floor..." he grumbled, knowing that he was definitely not going inside that to get them out. "Let's get back to the hotel."

"Huh? Already?"

"I think the night was long enough."

As he wanted to leave the spot, Judy grabbed his arm and got in his way. "Wait, don't let us miss this opportunity; a night like that happens for people like us only once in a life."

He frowned slightly, exasperated. "I pass."

She furrowed her brows and brushed both her hands over his cheeks. "Hey, this is not fair. Why do we have to adjust to _you_?"

"You're probably not even sober enough to drive, _that's_ why we're adjusting to me."

"C'mon," Judy said and stepped closer to him, leaning her head on his shoulder, "let's just forget the things we make our problems, and enjoy our time."

"What exactly do you want from me?" Law asked with a little rough undertone. "You're out for something again. Fuck?"

She narrowed her brows as she looked into his cold face. He had said everything so bluntly like she had nothing else than sex in mind. "You're so... Fuck you." With a jerk, she pulled his face to her and pressed her lips against his before she pushed him away and slapped him.

Wide-eyed, Law was silenced for the moment, not understanding what just happened. Judy didn't give him a second look and left the scene after she had turned eyes from all people around them.

Standing perplexed, watched by the bystanders, Law gritted his teeth while he cared less what anyone else was thinking now. He passed the crowd back into the party lounge as he tried to figure what that move was supposed to be. From all things that woman did, he had never expected her daring to slap him. The worst thing was just that he couldn't explain it to himself, he couldn't explain what was going through her mind, what he had done wrong. Was it because he had put her wrong? Had he broken her pride as a woman? That made no fucking sense. She fucked around her whole life anyway, she even had that one rich dude with her the whole night. What was her fucking problem?

"Heeey Cap!" Shachi called and moved with Penguin up to him, both swaying with the happy grins of drunken people arm in arm. "What's up? You look annoyed."

"It's nothing," Law grumbled. "Is Quinn with you?"

Penguin shook his head. "No, haven't seen her in a while. You looking for her?"

"Of course he's looking for her, why else would he ask?" Shachi snarled.

Rolling his eyes, Penguin didn't even bother to look at him as he answered. "Who knows, man? Maybe he only wants to know if she's safe and fine."

"No, I'm looking for her."

"See!" Shachi said.

"Gosh, I said MAYBE, that's why I asked, dumbass."

The two started to fight again over nothing momentous, so that Law left without them even noticing.

* * *

The party was anything but one Quinn would enjoy any longer. She didn't feel like staying inside where those suited and dressed up bunch gathered to show for most their sexual affection to each other or the money in their possession. Her outfit told everything, it didn't fit and she didn't want it to fit.

Leaning outside against the banister as she sought for a little place alone, her eyes fell through the skyline of the city. It was a beautiful light spectacle, much different from what she knew from town and basically didn't compare. Loud music played inside and not even the thick glass door was able to mute it to complete silence, but Quinn couldn't care less. Her mind had already switched off and couldn't even perceive the noise from the street. She was all by herself now, closer to the sky than ever.

"Every time I find you hanging around alone somewhere."

Her senses snapped back to where she actually was, a place full of people and impossibly alone. Staring to her side, she saw Law leaning against the banister as well with his back, fixing his eyes somewhere up-front.

"Same goes with you," she said, slightly smiling into his direction.

His face moved up and he stared against the dark sky above them. "Never been the social type, you know that."

Quinn looked at him, eyeing him a little more as he stood there not setting eyes on her. His blazer was off and on his arm to allow her a glimpse of his vest that grazed his trousers and showed his slim waistline just like she knew how a perfect male athletic body was built. Different to when the evening had started, he had loosened his tie, and the buttons of his shirt only closed beneath his collar bones. Not loosing her gaze on this, she said, "never?"

Slowly, he tilted his head to her and she darted her eyes immediately somewhere else than his body. "You wanna know something about me?"

Uncertain if her response would lead to an answer of his offer, she looked back at him with caution. "Of course," said she, still having in mind that Law talked rather less to none about his private life.

He smirked when hearing the hidden curiosity in her insecure behavior. "When I was a kid, I used to have lots of friends."

Quinn could treat that information as something amusing, because he had said it with such lax like she hadn't expected him ever to do when it came to his privacy. He was smirking faintly to it like the way he always did when teasing her; like he was teasing her then with the tiniest exposure to his life.

But the information was rather sad. Once more Quinn realized she knew so few about that guy and the first personal information he had given her himself was something she didn't understand and let her question what had changed him. Was it the death of his parents? Had he other family? Siblings? What was after?

"You look downcast," said he, returning to his usual stoical expression.

Quinn smiled fraily with her gaze sunken. "I just realize I know almost nothing about you."

It was his turn to eye her, studying her face more thoroughly as she seemed more deepened in thoughts than he had wanted. She was right about her statement and he felt like it should stay like that for the time being. Letting other people dunking in any deeper layer of yourself only made you more vulnerable.

She sighed out loud and straightened. "You know what? Whatever. I don't need to know, you're probably an assassin in disguise."

"Yeah, being a surgeon meant only the slightest to my real job. Actually I'm executing experiments on patients people think are dead before actually _I_ cause their last heartbeat."

Quinn looked at him with eyes stiffened to uncertainty, having no words to what he just had said. She tried to smile, though looking artificial, and found trouble in holding the eye contact with him as his face looked awfully serious at that moment.

Then she let out a small laugh. "Stop kidding."

"I never said, I'm kidding," said he, stoically.

Quinn bit her lower lip with a wry grin, moving her eyes away from his face because it seemed kind of creepy all of a sudden. "Yeah, this is what I'm worried about. You don't make it easy for me to have an operation."

Her fright invited him to smirk and he eyed her up and down, as blatant as possible, so that her guts would drop down into her baggys.

"Can you stop this?" asked she, slightly annoyed as she felt his gaze on her. "You know you're acting like a pervert right now?"

Chuckling, he moved his eyes away from her again and rather fixed the street below.

Her brows narrowed with a pink haze over her cheeks as she felt he was laughing about her. "What's so funny?"

"I'm wondering if you look so ridiculous on purpose."

Staring down to her torso herself, she grabbed the ends of her tee and stretched it a little in both directions. "It's a total turn off, right?"

"Was it supposed to be one?"

Quinn laughed and made a full spin, spreading her arms like a happy child. "A bit. People judge by appearance, and like that I can't lure any horny guy to me."

Raising a brow, he watched how convinced she was from her idea that caused her to smile endlessly. He would love to say her thoughts were fatuous and innocent, but right here in this building with the upper class, it was nowhere far from the truth. Law had caught many snide remarks and looks at her tonight, which still made him wondering if she had perceived the same amount. No matter how rich you were, a famous rapper and producer, society here placed value on your outer appearance.

"As a guy," he said, "this wouldn't scare me off."

She put her arms to her hips and looked at him, still smiling. "It wouldn't, huh?"

"No. Bad clothing can't change a pretty face."

"Did you just call me pretty?" Even when she knew she wasn't ugly at all (as long as not being depressive) Quinn would never think of Law finding her attractive enough to speak such out, because she ranked herself somewhere below his standards.

"That was a general statement."

"Okaaay," she answered playfully, believing him instantly.

"But yes, you are."

Eyes growing, pink across her cheeks, she tried to focus her eyes anywhere but let them dancing around the place. "S-sorry?"

"Oh Peanut," Law said with a deep inhalation, not making a big deal out of it that he finally had told her. "Anyone with a sense of aesthetic would see that."

"Don't make fun of me. Are you drunk?"

"I'm not making fun of you," he claimed, "there are better ways to do."

"But-, I-, You-, Me-"

"Just accept it."

Still with her gaze gone somewhere else, she nodded and tried to calm from her reaction. "Okay-okay-okay-okay. I find you handsome, and you find me pretty, that seems fair. Ha, nothing weird, nope nope."

"So, how did your plan went along?"

His question distracted her mind promptly so that she could answer with the focus completely back to the actual topic. "Well, my plan definitely works. No dude has tried to approach me tonight. Hm... do I look fat in those clothes? It was the biggest size I found. Ironically, the cap's a little too big, it keeps sliding down my head, but I had no other that looked gangster enough."

"If I was a guy and found a pretty girl, I would easily determine her body shape under those covers."

"I see," Quinn replied, "you bring up your experience."

When he looked like no further interaction would follow since he pulled out his phone and threw a brief glance on the screen instead of responding, Quinn's active attention perked up and she clutched her own fingers looking nervously at him. "Uhm, I mean, tell me how!"

Law put his phone back in his pocket, not bothering a look but straightened to get back inside. "It's late, I go and find the others so we can leave already."

Her eyes followed as he was about to walk back and again she set herself under pressure to find something that would make him stay a little longer. "I think the others are amusing themselves now, they don't wanna go yet."

"Let's check if Judy's still sober, or else I'm the one to drive."

"I think Shachi or Penguin can do too? You don't have to look for them."

"No, they were already out my consideration when we had entered this building," he said and grabbed the handle of the glass door to push it to the side.

Before it was even the slightest ajar, Quinn added almost in hectic, "show me!"

Law looked over his shoulder at her, a brow over his lazy eyes slightly rose in surprise as she raised her body in poise. "Show you what?"

"You're talking like you're the master of women, and thereby I never have seen anything of that manipulating skills."

She had a challenging tone, amusing him from all things that had happened tonight the most. Or even. "How should I manipulate someone who knows I'm trying to?"

Quinn shrugged her shoulders with a provoking smile. "You tell me."

This time it was her victory, and he backed off from the door, moving slow-paced over to her and see how her eyes wandered from his feet to his face.

Confidence was the wrong term to describe what this man exuded whenever he felt certain about something. He was cocky, drowned with arrogance, and so much self-assurance didn't differ from any jerk she had ever run into. But what distinguish him from that bunch though was that he had all rights to be. Or she thought so.

"First, I detect her from across," he started nonchalant, if not slightly playful as if this all was a game. "Second, I approach her when I could ensure tight eye-contact."

Her eyes rested first at his neck area as it was on the same level with her sight, before she lifted her chin up to look into his face when he stood a feet away from her. "And if she rejects you straight away?"

"She won't."

"Ouhh," Quinn said with a brow rose, laughing lightly as she stamped him with an adjective, "confident."

"No, just politeness," he corrected and Quinn rolled her eyes with a quiet chuckle. "If she's as pretty up-close as I had seen from afar, I would continue coming up with anything to talk about."

"Pretty up-close? Oh you mean jerk," Quinn chided, slapping his chest with the back of her hand and caused him to chuckle. "Is that how you checked out Judy as well?"

"Actually, she had come approaching me first," said he with his eyes wandering up for a quick recall.

"Sounds like her; she's too impatient to wait to be approached."

"Yeah, she is."

Realizing what he actually meant after it took her seconds to understand, she blushed somewhat with irksome expression. "That's not what I meant!" Law's smirk went aside, enjoying her little peeve and made her tone even more complaining, "anyway, carry on."

"Then I would follow the standard rule of a flirt; less is more, hypnotizing with my eyes, all that."

"Okay? And then you get a room and have sex?"

"Peanut."

"What?"

His eyelids fall back half over his eyeballs, making her unsure if she hadn't said anything wrong so that he could find a gap to attack her again. He was always so good at it, she wasn't even sure anymore if she found it annoying or fun to have those banters with him.

"I thought you wanted to know how I determine a woman's body if not obvious, and not how to get laid instantly."

"Oh, yeah, my bad. Sorry."

Before he could continue, she stopped his open mouth with another random question. "Did you ever teach Shachi and Penguin how to get a girl? Or are you more of a _passive_ wingman?"

"That interests you?" asked he surprised, raising a brow in interest.

Quinn shrugged her shoulders a little. "Yeah, why not? Just checking what kinda friend you are."

"More of a passive wingman."

"Suits you."

"And still I'm here, telling you my strategy."

"Yo, maybe I need to get laid by a woman sooner or later."

He chuckled again about that irony, also conjuring a smile on her face.

"Anyway, now really, carry on!"

"I-"

"Oh, do you know Judy's lesbian tendencies are more somewhat of a narcissism? She loves the naughty thought of a blonde and brunette making out together to serve the sexual desire of men."

"Peanut."

"I'm sorry!"

"I-"

"Uhm, sorry, just another short interruption to let you know: I'm not into this, I'm just telling you if you ever wondered where this comes from."

"Quinn."

A wide smile wanted to spread on her face, but she tried to keep her lips shut, what didn't change the clear excitement in her face. Law raised a brow again and caused her to give in to her grin. "This is sooo weird when you call me Quinn!"

"You think so?" said he and she nodded right off, her excitement faltering only slowly.

"I mean, isn't it weird to your ears when I say Law? Law, Law, Law, Law, Law? Like, I haven't called you like that in years! I mean, months... you know, sorta an idiom, but yeah... months, not years. Just feels like years."

Weird? It was indeed unfamiliar to hear his first name out of her mouth, but he couldn't deny that he liked it more than just Trafalgar or Doctor. There were those people you called by their first names from the beginning and he had tried with her when they were still in the progress of getting to know each other; but someway, somehow, it had developed into a complete other direction. Now where the name barrier had fallen, it felt like this between them had developed into something more trustworthy. That all the things she had ever shared and would do in future become much more significant.

"Hey, when you got involved with the police back then... did you have a brush with the law, or did they?" Quinn burst out in laughter about her own joke, trying to get a hold of herself. "Oh god, I'm so sorry! You don't know how much I love your name, it's seriously the best!"

As much as he wanted to give her that laugh, her shameless interruptions invited him to cut her amusement. Not fearing a bit that this could escalate into something bad, he made one step closer to her as she was trying to control herself, and surprised her by putting his arm around her waist, tugging her in a jerk closer to his body.

Quinn's laugh got exchanged with instant silence and she looked up at him with widened eyes while she wasn't able to speak for a moment.

"And there I go," Law said, also looking at her face, "5'7 tall with a healthy stature."

Feeling his arm around her, his hand ending at the side of her waist just like today already once, she turned pink and tried to escape his gaze by looking down. It was impossible though to sight him nowhere in the way they were standing then, his chest being the first thing she saw when she lowered her face. "That was a quick move..." she said, the noisy confidence from her voice afore had disappeared completely.

"Approached, small-talked and determined," said he while looking atop her head. Her dead silence tugged a smirk on his face and when neither her mouth nor her body responded, he added, "and 10/10 she doesn't attempt any escape."

Yes, no escape. It wasn't awkward to stand in this position with him, just unfamiliar. Up to then, she had only shared hugs with him, nothing had ever been intimate like what they were having then. She wondered if he could make other woman feel the way like she suddenly felt, but realized soon that this was the purpose of this little show. Even Quinn knew he was manipulative, he had managed to make her freezing in his arm when yet he was the source to warm her up again. She could feel his lean muscles and by looking up she felt protected by seeing how much taller he was in comparison to herself. "And then...?"

"I would kiss her."

As soon as his words fell, her heart paused for a moment and she blushed while looking into his eyes. "You would kiss a stranger you just had met?" asked she in disbelief.

"You know, making out. It's a meaningless kiss."

Of course, to him kisses were as natural to sex as flour was to bread. She should rather wonder why she was asking him such thing after knowing him for half a year already. Law was no simple kind of man, but he _was_ a man. If she wouldn't know what attitude he had before he had told her his time sleeping around with strangers was over, beside his awful anti-socializing, she would think he was actually a nice and charming guy. It wasn't a matter of course to know someone who would fight a bunch of people in order to save their friends, risking not just delinquency but his life. And it wasn't a matter of course to spend time with someone in the rainy darkness only to do good for the other. But, everything he did wasn't a matter of course; everything he did was surprising in its own way.

"A meaningless kiss?" she repeated and her heart suddenly beat so much faster when his arm around her closed even the tiniest gap between their bodies.

"Yeah. Meaningless," he said.

The pressure in her heart then, the tickle in her fingers, it was different to when she last felt nervous about something. Even when they stood atop of this tall building, outside in the cold breeze, Quinn felt outlandish comfortable. It were only inches between them and the closer he would move his face, the more the lights in the background would blur to colorful speckles until they disappear in the shut of her eyes.

Quinn was sure what she had expected as she rooted before him in his arm under the starry heaven, as he came closer with his warmth and breath, tingling her lips. But she felt how it maneuvered away till his lips pressed soft and gentle against her cheek.

As he pulled back, her eyes opened only slowly and she looked at him with eyes so confused, feeling her heartbeat inside her chest. "A meaningless kiss," she whispered again.

And he ensured her with same low whisper, "a meaningless kiss."

The silence they shared with each other gave her time to digest the moment while their eyes never left one another. His arm was still around her and she was still pressed to his body. She had no clue where to put her own hands, it felt like she had lost control over herself and could only look at him.

Whatever would happen next, Quinn didn't want any of this to stop; but everything was doomed to end at a particular moment, and theirs were when she heard the glass door moved. Her eyes shot over and she saw Penguin coming out, calling Law. Instantly, she pushed herself off and he caught her shocked eyes for a swift second before she would pass him and the guy who just stepped out.

"Huh? Quinn? Where are you going?" asked Penguin and turned to her.

"Restroom," she answered, not daring to turn around or wasting any time on her way.

He looked back at Law who stood straight with his back to him before he went over to the banister and folded his arms, leaning against it to stare ahead.

"Everything alright?" asked Penguin, walking up next to him. "You found her."

"Yeah," said Law, not casting him a glance, "guess she had just eaten something wrong."

...

Quinn was covering her lower face with her hand as she rushed through the lounge, seeking a mirror. Her face had turned completely red and she scrambled through the party mass, not making eye-contact with anyone.

She ran out into the hallway, straight to the restroom, only to see a long and full line. Annoyed, she kept her pace, not halting once but went straight up to turn downstairs to the floor below to visit the restroom there that had fewer occupants. Rushing inside, she caught some other glances either for her look or for her tempo, but she didn't care.

She stopped in front of a sink, looking into the mirror and saw how strong her blush had maintained from above to here. _God...,_ Quinn groaned mentally and turned the sink on, cooling her heated face with splashes. _What have I done? What have I done? What have I done?!_

That moment, she had been off-guard. Law had managed to manipulate her more than ever. What had she thought? What had he thought? Why had he done this? What was with that MEANINGLESS kiss?

Still, her heart was throbbing, partly as an after effect and partly to the uproar inside her. _Don't tell Judy... don't freaking tell Judy... DON'T TELL JUDY!_ she yelled at herself in her head, pressing her fists against her eyes and growled in utter upset.

The women next to her only stared confused, wondering what problem she got to act in such a fuss.

Quinn knew that Judy liked Law, she was even certain that her feelings had grown stronger after the two got along better without problems to talk and call each other with no sex as intention. She had no clue what had ridden her, why she had let it happen, and the thought of it was so much more regretful when she was aware of her promise to Judy to never, ever, not even in a thousand years, start anything with this guy. And Judy had trusted her.

It might have been just a kiss on the cheek; innocent, completely meaningless. But as they stood alone, Quinn had _wanted_ THAT kiss.

"GAAAWD!" she growled out loud and stared inside the mirror, scaring the people in the room. "Quinn! You make everything worse! You just broke up with that other guy not even a month ago! What the hell do you think you're doing?! What. The. Actual. Hell?!"

The women on the side carefully tried to approach her. "Excuse me, everything alright?"

Quinn looked at her as if her question was the most appalling thing ever. "Nooo? You see me?! I'm anything but alright!" she snapped, pointing with both open hands at her own face.

"Quinn?"

Hearing Judy, she stiffened in a shot and turned to her behind. Judy just came out of one of the stalls with her eye makeup smudged underneath her eyes. A picture Quinn rarely seen occurring and threw everything in her mind over right away. "Judy... oh god, what happened?"

Judy rolled her eyes and walked up to the sink next to her. "I should ask _you_. What are you screaming around here like crazy?" She turned the sink on and damped the tip of a tissue to clean the smudged spots with it.

Brows turned to worry, Quinn watched her. "It's, uhm..." Of course she hesitated to answer. "I was just breaking my mind because of Sabo again, nevermind."

"Still?" said Judy with a little laugh as when making fun of her.

Quinn saw it was a sad attempt to overshadow her own mood. "Yeah... You need something...?"

Stopped wiping her eyes, Judy tilted her face to her. "Quinn. Men are jerks." She threw the tissue underneath the sink into the covered bin and washed her hands quickly. "Forget about them."

There was only one man at that place that could put her into such uproar, the one Quinn would actually love to not think about then, she knew she didn't even have to mention a name. "What had he done?"

Judy's face was a death-stare, one that asked not to be questioned to deep for the sake of everyone. "Told you, he's a jerk. Be friends with him, but I warn you, this guy has no respect for women."

Quinn watched her as she walked out of the restroom, seeming still upset from the inner about whatever Law had told her. It was wrong to leave it like that, so she ran after her until they caught up in the halls. "Wait Judy, this is not fair of you."

Judy stopped and looked at her displeased. "What?"

"Law's a bit of a jerk and doesn't always know how to treat people properly, but he's a good guy."

"Half a year ago _you_ were the one to tell me he's a jerk."

"Yeah, but half a year ago you were the one to tell me he's not that bad," Quinn countered, her brows furrowed, "I grow to know him better over the time-"

"Oh fine, me too."

"No!" Quinn looked into Judy's mad face and couldn't help but share a quick hug before looking at her again. "You know you're just saying that because he doesn't return your feelings."

"Gosh gurl, he thinks I'm only there to be fucked!"

"Because he doesn't know better!" She muzzled Judy for the moment and continued with, "you got to know each other like that, and-and-and, you don't show him different. How should he know you're seeking for more than sex with him?"

Judy looked to the side. "I don't..."

"You're funny," Quinn said, still with her worried expression, "you don't want a relationship with him, but because you like him, you still seek his attention. And then you expect to have sex with him and don't get it, so you get mad at him for not knowing that it's more than just lust."

She looked back at Quinn and her lips formed to a straight line while she inhaled through her nose.

"So don't be so upset..." Quinn watched the anger Judy had carried from the restroom out was vanishing, though very slow. It wasn't just anger but a load full of sadness that she masqueraded in her pride. How long had she been in the stall crying?

"But you're aware that he's a damn ass, right?" asked Judy.

Quinn smiled and nodded. "Of course I do, told cha. You're drawn to asses."

As the two shared the warm moment of recalming, two security guards came up to them. Actually the very same they had been talking to at the entrance door.

* * *

"Ouch!" Penguin yelled as the security guard pushed him against Shachi in front of the casino entrance. "You don't have to be so violent!"

"None of you ever come again!" one of the guard shouted before he turned away to mind other business.

The five of them officially got kicked from the casino.

"Oh man," Shachi said and rubbed his upper arms, "they were really rough..."

"You were fighting like idiots," Judy told, "you should've just accepted and walked out like normal people just as we did."

"So, the night's over, right?" Penguin leaned his head back and looked up the tall building, kind of sad that it had to ended like that. "Who knew that they would look up for MC Quinnzealous' music."

"I'm sorry." They turned their heads to Quinn. "I've ruined everything for you, I should've just show up like everyone else."

"Ahhh no!" Penguin waved with his hands frantically in front of his body. "It was still fun, right guys?"

"Yeah!" Shachi agreed right away. "That was the most awesome night ever and hey, we got a cool story to tell now, right? Did you have fun?!"

Had she? She looked into the round, stopping her gaze by one after another. Shachi and Penguin who were still affected from the alcohol were staring at her with huge eyes as they anticipated an answer while they also now and then bantered; Judy had been just standing and looking as well, but then answered a phone call from her colleague regarding the car they borrowed. Cautiously, she moved her eyes up to Law who stood casual waiting. He looked tired, but still stoic as ever. As his glance gazed down to her from the corner of his eyes, she immediately looked for another point to fix.

"Yeah, I had," said she, causing smiles on Shachi and Penguin faces. Being first then to walk off without exchanging further looks with anyone, she headed straight to the car with a loud yawn and body stretch, both arms in the air. "I'm tired, let's get back."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Though Quinn's a bit of annoying to some of you and also somewhat cringy (now I get what you mean and yeah, Judy thinks the same haha), I'm glad to hear she's not a Mary-Sue to you. _

_Anyway, 50 chapters now (and they're still not together lmao) and the last for this year, hope you liked it._

 _Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!_


	51. Conflicts, conflicts and more conflicts

_**A/N: I did not abandon this story! I was quite stressed the past few months and couldn't get back to work on new chapters properly. So, I'm very sorry to have let you wait so long. Still barely have time, but will try to do my best uploading new chapters asap.**_

* * *

 **51\. Conflicts, conflicts and more conflicts**

The town occupied many bars, but 'Milo's' was by far the oddest place around. It was big enough to always give place for those who sought one, and only during holidays when the place hit the guest's faces with excessive holiday decorations, you had to be early enough to receive a table or just a bar stool. Otherwise, the place wasn't that special.

The cocktails were expensive, the food was mediocre. The jukebox never worked straight through and the service was kind of sloppy. Milo never seemed to gather money together to buy new furniture. The tables were scratchy with messages and some tic-tac-toe games of people that had sat at them, and the booths and chairs equally old and damaged.

Maybe though, that was the charm of the bar; enough to lure people back inside regardless of better places they had experienced.

"Stella!" Milo called out behind the bar when he saw a young petite woman walking towards him. "Ye're early, yer shift starts not until an hour."

Stopping at the bar with her cardigan around her arms, she shrugged her shoulders with a smile. "I thought I come over an hour earlier to get the feels back."

"It's just a bar," Milo said, laughing amused. "Three months absence won't make it a new place."

"Right, you save at that point."

"Oioi, no cheeky comments."

Stella turned her head and looked a little around, checking out the environment and its people. "Hm... I'll put my stuff away. Can you give me a coke?"

"Sure, sweety." Milo took out a small coke bottle, which he opened and put on the counter in front of her with a straw inside. "How were yer exams by the way?"

She took the bottle with her free hand. "Passed them all," said she and sighed with slight relief. She walked off backwards, adding, "my fourth semester starts upcoming month and I heard this will be the somewhat relaxed one. So, thanks for taking me back!"

"Ye're welcome!" he replied with a smile. "Missed ye here around!"

Stella went into the small staff room behind the bar and put her handbag and cardigan away. Sitting on the old couch, she eyed the room a little to make herself more comfortable and familiar with it again. It looked exactly like it had when she had been around last time, she could swear there were things the regular staff hadn't touched since then or even earlier at all.

When she got outside, not thinking much but slurping her coke, her eyes fixed another young woman that passed in front of her eyes. She thought she had seen that blonde girl before once, thus followed her with her eyes until she disappeared around the corner in the second half of the bar.

Stella was the one to remember lots of faces, or rather say, she had an eidetic memory. Though, it didn't mean she remembered everything around her but only things or faces she had been involved with. Since that was the case of the blonde girl, she slowly followed her without arousing attention.

Seeing her across the room in one booth with four other people, she raised a brow when she also recognized that picture in some kind of way. Those people had been there on her last work day; the blonde; the brunette; the sunglasses, the Penguin-cap; and...

Stella frowned.

Law Trafalgar.

 _That you still show yourself around,_ she thought. Cocking her head, she turned 180 degrees and walked straight back to the bar to Milo. "Can you hand me a scotch?"

"Drinking before yer shift? I don't know if I can do that."

"Not for me."

He raised a brow in wonder, but did her the favor.

Stella grabbed it and head away. "Deduct it from my tip."

With no faltering confidence, she walked straight to the booth and grabbed the empty chair from the table that stood closest to it. As she seated herself to the group, earning all pair of eyes on her, she put the glass down in front of Law with a small smirk. _Nice to meet you again. I honestly haven't expected you to come here again, how shameless of you to-_

"Sorry?"

Stella snapped back and blinked confused into the round until her eyes stopped at Quinn.

"You alright?" said the blonde, staring at her with confusion just as anyone else at the table.

Stella's mouth opened and she inhaled deeply, taking a swift looking into the round. Yes, they were confused. Though she had to say that the brunette looked less friendly than the blonde, and well, Trafalgar, that dude was just as stoic as she had expected. Like he wouldn't give any fuck at all, let alone remembering her. But she was sure he did, he hadn't seemed stupid.

The table exchanged looks before they wandered back to her.

"Stella. Nice to make your acquaintances," said she and got a little up to lean forwards, shaking each stranger's hand once.

Surprised they shook back, Quinn looking in wonder at her face as their hands met. "You're the waitress that splashed water into Law's face."

A warm smile slid over Stella's face and she sat back down. "Yeah, I am. Didn't expect someone to remember me."

"How can someone forget such action?" Judy side-commented and for the new company at the table uncertain if that was a snarky remark or to her own amusement.

She also smiled at Judy, openly just put on. "Not the action, but perhaps my face."

"Uhm, are you looking for someone...?" asked Penguin cautiously.

"No," said she and cocked her body, smiling in excuse. And she knew that smile wasn't friendly at all, hence she aimed it at Law. "I mean, I found the one I've been 'looking' for."

"You're mad at him, ain't cha?" asked Quinn so that Stella knew they were aware of that guy's arrogant behavior.

"Mad is the wrong word." Not quitting the eye-contact once, she brushed her hair behind her ear. "You know, I've thought about this all thoroughly, and about the type of guy this example is portraying. I want to apologize for our last encounter." Watching her in silence, the group also occasionally shifted their view to Law and expected any action to happen. Stella grabbed the scotch glass and shifted it closer to him. "And I do not expect any apology back. Let's say it was my own naivety to think you had meant something serious when you approached me that night."

Law kept quiet. Was he regarding?

"A man of no big words..." Quinn whispered.

 _Man, use your mouth,_ Stella thought. "You skeptical? Is that scotch not enough?"

"Hm... I see no reason why you mind this so much unless you plan something, lady," said Quinn and Stella's face turned to her.

"I may care about my image on other people. Don't need to hear later what awful person I am. And has no one taught you that calling others 'lady' in your cynical context was rude?"

Quinn's mouth corners sank. "I'm sorry..."

As Law didn't seem to react, Stella straightened a little with a swift look into the round, changing topics in awkwardness and tiny interest. "Where's your other friend?"

"Other friend?" Shachi said.

"That blonde guy."

Quinn narrowed her brows only subtly as she answered, "gone."

Reading her face without difficulties, Stella understood the situation more than enough. "Oh, I understand. I'm sorry for that." She got up and straightened her shirt. "Anyway, I'm heading back to work then."

Walking off, her mind filled with thoughts in an instant, wondering what they were thinking about her now; if it was a bad idea to splash the water back then; and if she should just not have paid him the scotch. Actually, Stella wasn't over him yet. She still wanted to give it one more shot, despite that he turned out to be not her type at all. Quite the contrary, she had been searching for something lovable before landing in bed with that man.

Not even half-way gone, she stopped and turned around slowly to face the bunch one more. "Next weekend there's a party at my dormitory. I'm happy to invite you and your friends over."

* * *

Law hadn't talked with either of them, Judy nor Quinn, about what had occurred during their last night of vacation. Both of them didn't approach him once for it, and he honestly didn't feel like talking about it either. For all the years living in that town, no one had questioned his lifestyle as much as those two did. He got along with Penguin and Shachi without problems, they accepted his decisions and way of thinking. As his social circle expanded, Law knew he had missed the opportunity to socialize better, having a sense for other people's emotion. Being quite bad at it, he couldn't put himself in any way that wouldn't bother others.

He got into his daily routine of waking up, getting to work and now and then spend little of his spare time with his companions somewhere, or with a pretty stranger in bed. Though temporary fun was included, it was the same boring routine. Ever and ever.

As he left the hospital at night for the bus station, just like every day, he knew how this would usually continue. He would get home with his briefcase, for a few weeks then by bus, which only arrived once an hour by that time. At his place he would have a little meal, nothing big, and then take a shower before going to bed with heavy thoughts in his mind that accompanied him in the back. Thoughts that rather dragged his mouth corners down, not allowing him any smile, any joy of his surroundings.

What could he expect from a boring life?

"Yo."

A not so boring person.

Quinn was crouching on the little wall at the bus station, greeting him as their eyes met in the brightness of the street light. 'Yo' was everything she said while only staring back at him as he had halted by her sight.

He walked next to her and put his briefcase down beside his feet. "You follow me?"

"Nah, just happen to be here."

Of course she just happened to be here. Of course she would tell him that.

Crouching quietly on the wall, staring at her own shoes, Quinn didn't say a word and so didn't Law. He knew anyway that she would speak out her concerns sooner or later.

"That party the waitress mentioned yesterday... you go?" asked she then.

He let the question sag for a little before he chose to answer. "I don't consider it."

Quinn turned her head to him. "Why not?"

"Why should I?" asked he back, tilting his face slightly to her before he pointed it back ahead. "We've been to a party before knowing no one, and I don't see much sense behind inviting strangers over. Beside that I don't have anything to celebrate anyway."

"You celebrate having a good life and good friends, ...I guess," said she and also withdrew her face. "Well, you two aren't strangers anymore. I mean, you've slept with each other."

"So what?"

"Nothing..."

Quinn remained silent again. Pure silence that made even the dark empty street appearing loud. When she was around, Law knew there was always something she wouldn't understand about his choices. Always tons of questions; always against his view; always trying to figure his mind.

"I think you should go," said she, hopping down from the wall and straightening her shirt. "It's a dormitory party, most of the people in there probably don't even know each other themselves, and they probably bring friends too."

"Peanut," said Law, making her looking at him again with innocence across her face. "What is this all about?"

"Nothing, I just thought you can have use of some fun with people your age," she claimed with a light shoulder shrug, moving her eyes from him. "Honestly, the roof party wasn't exhibit A."

Sure it wasn't (at least for normal people like them). Still, he didn't fancy it, and she was supposed to know that, so why did this thought even touched her mind and crawled over her lips?

As Quinn leaned with her bottom against the wall, staring quietly into space, Law turned his glances slightly back to her. Silence, some lost expression, and he wondered what made her looking so pensive yet so outspaced. Her in silence was always a bothered-her.

"I dunno... I've never been invited to many parties..." she then muzzled a little.

"So, this is about you?"

A smile washed across her lips, leaving out her eyes. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Silence again.

It was unusual how long she could keep silence without even looking at him or keeping herself busy with something little. The humming; the dangling of legs; anything but that suffocating silence.

"Why did you abandon the waitress? She was really pretty and seemed smart too."

Law turned his head back to their front, answering nonchalantly, "lots of people are."

She smiled at him, though rather mild and unsure before her eyes turned huge again. "I just wanna understand this. If I was a guy, I would date her after even sleeping with her. I mean, you're not sleeping with any random girl, you're kinda picky too so that means, she must have something special enough to have drawn your attention. Petite, elegant face? The big dark eyes? Or-" Quinn sucked on her lower lip and looked to ground. "I'm sorry."

"Did you visit Sabo?" Law changed the topic right away. "I see no other reason for you to come from this direction."

She threw her head back with a big sigh into sky. "What left reason do I have to visit him again."

"Stalking perhaps."

Her eyelids sank down half over her eyeballs, staring at Law. "Hey, that's the kinda person I'm to you?"

"I wouldn't know otherwise why you're always around me."

"Aren't you always around _me?_ Creeping up at any time?"

He smirked. "You're right, maybe I'm the stalker. I'm just here at the bus stop because I knew you happen to be here."

"You don't know how much I can expect such thing from you."

"And I could do so many bad things now," said he to her face, but receiving no further reaction. "You're not crept out?"

"I've seen worse of you."

"So I can't make it any worse?"

"It means I can't think any worse and less of you anyway."

Smirk not faltering, he chuckled away from her. "You really have to decide how to act towards me."

"Sorry?" asked Quinn as if he had said something wrong.

"Going from 'you total jerk' to 'you're the best' back and forward."

"Well, maybe it wouldn't be a back and forward when you decide to act like a total jerk or not."

"Maybe you deserve the total-jerk treat."

"Maybe you deserve to be called so then."

"Maybe."

"Yeah, maybe." Quinn pointed out her tongue at him. "Idiot." She straightened and raised her arms to stretched her body. "Aaanyway, I really have no reason to go there again. I don't even wanna see his face for a while."

"I thought you could have gotten your personal stuff you left there, but that probably might have happened a month ago."

"I didn't have any personal stuff left there ever. And I was so devastated, I'd probably have sent Judy meh," said she, for the content pretty easy-going. "You know, I used to imagine a lot how it would be if I'm in a relationship, and I think that fantasy had caused my huge disappointment. Told cha already I'm done with guys, but I wanna tell you again while not emotionally affected." She put her hands to her hips, confident in posture and fully turned to him, saying with a nod, "I'm done with guys."

"One can't figure a good relationship when one hasn't even figured oneself."

"Exactly. For both sides." Remembering something, she gripped into her jacket pocket. "By the way, I was unsure to give you this or not." Between her fingers dangled the onigiri key chain she had bought weeks ago. "It was cute and I thought I would keep it to myself since I considered you wouldn't have much use of it."

Law took it with a raised brow. "And you carry this with you every day?"

"No..." she said, becoming quieter. "I planned to give it to you..."

"So, stalking?"

"Thanks, Quinn. You're a great friend, Quinn. Oh you're welcome, Law! I'm glad you like it, Law!"

He chuckled, holding it in his hands and eyed it. It wasn't really jealousy when he saw Shachi and Penguin had received some little gifts from her, since those key chains were nothing big. Somehow, he had that annoying feel though to had been left out from her. All in all, he was used to her attention and he enjoyed it more than he wanted to.

"I thought I'd give you at the roof party, but it went different than planned," said Quinn.

Yes, very different. Should he welcome that as positive or not? The event and her reaction.

"Law?" she started with a long break between her sentences. "At the party." Her eyes went down a little, her audible breathing into his ear. "You kissed me."

His fist closed the key chain and he slid his hand into his pocket. "Indeed."

"That was weird."

He turned his face to look at her while she avoided his gaze shyly. "It's only weird if you think it's weird."

"Yeah, but-"

"Shachi? Penguin? You do it all the time."

Her eyes became smaller, unsure about his response. "Yes... but it's different."

"Why?" asked he. "You can give anyone a kiss on the cheek including me, and I can't without making it not weird?"

"But this is my thing..."

"And this is not mine?"

Quinn's eyes briefly touched his sight. "I dunno?"

"Exactly. You don't." When she kept silent, stopping to react, Law exhaled quietly. "Don't trouble your head too much with what happened there. I was just demonstrating as you wanted, but kept it casual."

Not that he did not want her to know it was more than just a meaningless kiss on the cheek. Yes, he had done it because the chance was there, because he wanted to be close to her as much as possible. And in that moment, it had looked like she was waiting too, for their lips to touch. But his worry to interpret things wrong, way too far, to ruined their friendship even though he felt like it was much more, and to get her regretting the moment on the roof, it brought him back at mind.

"Right," Quinn responded after inhaling without a sound. She smiled widely at him. "Good that this is solved, because I just wanted to tell you that I'm not the type to do such stuff."

"Such stuff?"

"You know what I mean."

"Ah, _that_ stuff," said Law with a small smirk, "yeah, I know you're not."

"Well, good, topic's over! Let's not talk about it anymore."

When she seemed to be a little lax again, their little chat got interrupted as a car honked in front of the two, receiving both's attention. The front window moved down and Dr. Dillan was inside. "Need a ride?"

Though Law preferred to be alone, especially with Quinn, he was once in a few times relieved that he didn't have to deal with the situation at the moment. Dr. Dillan came to the right time to pick up the girl, he would have the usual time for himself once she would leave with the car.

But Dr. Dillan meant both of them.

And both declined, until Quinn gave in and smiled at him to convince him to join. Why he felt uncomfortable? Because he hadn't exchanged many words with his colleague ever since the day he judged her justifiable care and curiosity, and called her out on that day. Again, even he responded rude, that woman went back to still care for him.

"Law?" Quinn's voice reached his sense, probably calling him the third time then.

He looked at her waiting presence, also Dr. Dillan in the car with a small smile. Everything felt so wrong yet so right.

"It's late, the bus will still take half an hour to arrive," said Quinn.

"Yeah, you're right," he said and walked towards the car.

Inside, in the backseat, was Dr. Dillan's son, which Quinn joined. "Hey, Jimmy!"

"Hello Miss Heady!" he responded lighthearted and then moved his eyes upfront as Law seated on the passenger seat. "Hello Dr. Trafalgar!"

Surprised, Quinn looked at him too. "Oh, Jimmy knows you?"

"I think they've never exchanged words, but of course, he knows the super doctor," Dr. Dillan joked, driving off as the seat belts were fastened.

"Super doctor?" Quinn repeated with a saucy smile.

"Dr. Trafalgar's your role model, right, Jimmy?"

"Oh, you wanna become a doctor too?"

"A surgeon," the boy answered, "Mom said Dr. Trafalgar's the best in the hospital and has a perfect record."

With subtle grin, Quinn's eyes became smaller. "I wonder, too, how this could be, not that he abandons patients who he sees as a failure to keep his record straight... hehe."

"Quinn!" Dr. Dillan called out.

"I'm sorry, I mean, yeah, he's a great man!"

Confused, Jimmy asked Law, "why should a doctor do something so evil, you only become one to help people, don't you?"

Quinn's subtle grin returned. "Yeah, not because you have fun on fiddling in their bodies...hehe."

"Quinn Heady!"

"I'm sorry, I mean, yeah, he's out to help! You don't know how much he annoys me when it comes to my health."

"Mom annoys me too, but I'm almost never ill," Jimmy claimed and asked Law again, "you went to medical school here in town, right? Just like mom."

"Law did, and he was the best in his year," Dr. Dillan answered for him once more, knowing that his much younger colleague wasn't the most talkative.

Jimmy's voice hasn't changed, but the mood in the car instantly when he asked, "when you have a 100% success rate, why didn't you took over surgery for my dad?"

Law kept his silence and a cool, slightly discomforted look, ahead.

Moving her eyes on-off to him, Dr. Dillan's heart stopped for a moment in helplessness before she forced a smile back on her face. "Ah, Dear, Dr. Trafalgar's tired from the hard work today. You know, the work of doctors is rewarding, but strenuous."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sir," said Jimmy. "I don't meant to bother you."

Trying to contribute to a better mood, Quinn turned to the boy with a bright smile. "Hey, you go to middle school after summer break, right? Looking forward to?"

And so the two slid into a lighthearted teacher-student conversation, easing the tension inside the car. Law stayed quiet though for the whole car ride over and he noticed Dr. Dillan's desperate attempt to approach him while also having an eye open for the two behind.

It wasn't like Law ignored her just because he could. He just saw no point in pretending everything was fine between them, and the option to discuss things out with Quinn in the back was also not in his interest (and he was sure also not in Dr. Dillan's).

Dr. Dillan dropped out Quinn first as they reached her door. She thanked for the ride and smiled at Law, waving at him as she stood outside in front of the passenger's window. He didn't bother to look back at her, made her eyes rolling with a wide smile till she turned and left.

"I'm sorry, but I couldn't help telling Jimmy about you, so he can have someone to look up to on unmotivated days," said Dr. Dillan as she drove off again. "It really helps! So I hope you don't mind this, because apparently I'm not enough of a role-model."

She added the latter sentence with a chuckle, but Law's gaze swiped to the side, aiming outside the window disinterested. "Do as you please."

Breathing out slow and quietly, Dr. Dillan face tensed a little. It was hard to build a proper conversation with him, but she didn't give up and tried to find a way to break the ice. "What was Quinn doing there?"

"Obviously waiting for the bus just like me."

"How were the holidays?"

He remained quiet. The whole car was, with Jimmy sleeping in the backseat. Law breathed in without a sound. Minutes passed by and it wouldn't take long until they would reach his destination.

Still silence.

A ghost of a smile hushed Dr. Dillan's mouth.

Still silence.

Doctor Dillan had given up.

Still silence.

"Quinn is important to me." He broke the silence. "In her own way."

Dr. Dillan's eyes shifted to him as they were holding in front of a red light.

"And I don't like when any third person interferes, trying to push either of us into situations that might be discomforting. I thought I should explain this to you before apologizing about our last word exchange."

"No, I'm the one to be sorry," she said, "I was really insensitive and disrespectful toward Quinn and her break-up with Sabo by picking on you. This is your private life, you know best what you think, and..." She inhaled deeply before letting out the breath audibly. "You were also right about me not being in the position to express such curiosity."

Law's eyes moved to her while his face remained in the same position.

"I've known you for so long now and it was just a year you have stayed under my roof, but still, I'm not your mother," said Dr. Dillan with a slight smile. A little low laugh escaped her lips as when laughing at herself. "Gosh, I'm getting emotional... I'm by the way very glad that you bring this back up. Thanks. You have to understand me, I've seen you grown and kinda seen you become the person you're now. And, I was like you too when I was young. Inhibited. Thought it's best to give you a little push when at the end I saw it was just idiotic of me to interpret so much into what I saw."

No, she hadn't interpreted anything wrong, she was even ahead of him before he had realized his own feelings for Quinn.

"You can let me out here," said he as he sighted his bus stop.

The car held in front of it and Law unfastened his seat belt while Dr. Dillan was watching him. "I know I can't do a lot for you-"

"You already did a lot." He opened the door, adding, "thank you. Good Night, Dr. Dillan," before he left.

"Trafalgar!" the woman called with her head out of the car window as he was a few meters far already. Law stopped to listen, but didn't turn his back. "Jimmy and me would be happy to see you over dinner some day. It's been awhile that you came over."

He didn't answer. Then he casually continued to move.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Not a long chapter, but hopefully satisfying. As always, thanks for reading and leave a review if you like~! (also much obliged for the other reviews)_**

 ** _GoddessOfVictory - Hey, thank you very much for reading and reviewing despite you were actually here for Sabo and Koala (how come you find this fic tho if I may ask?). Don't worry, I can't tell you now when, but I will definitely get back on those two even they are just side characters for the story :) So, thank you very much!_**


	52. A jerk and a windbag

**52\. A jerk and a windbag**

Quinn was bored.

It was past noon, end of August, almost end of her holiday while everyone was already back at work. Of course, she was glad to be free from her duties for a longer period and spending it on her hobbies. But days of little company were nothing she sought anymore. Compared to far past days, she had developed a taste for being around beloved ones and got used to it quickly. The days she only made friendly acquaintances were over, thus her lonely holidays as a teacher closer to unbearable.

When she wasn't outside, she listened to music and devoted herself to art, but today she felt nothing like doing any of that. Company is what she simply wanted.

Her legs leaned against the backrest of the couch while she was facing the TV upside down with her head hanging. Not even anything interesting to watch.

After she had turned the TV off, she pushed her torso up and changed to a tailored-fashion seat, gently bumping her forehead against the couch. Quinn sighed.

During the whole week, she had been blocking her concerns by distracting herself from negativity. Her head was a jumble of feelings and thoughts, so many that she couldn't identify them herself. A time she didn't know what she actually wanted for life.

Maybe it was best to go for a jog. The weather was nice and it's been a while that she engaged to any physical activity. The break up last month was constantly dragging her motivation to do anything. Judy's planned holiday outside the town had saved from falling deeper to the amount of impossibility of curing from her broken heart.

As she went through her closet to get her sports wear, Quinn's thoughts stopped to realize. She underestimated the time she had for herself with no other pair of eyes around her - no, she misused it. Quinn grinned at her drawer.

Maybe the loneliness had driven her mad, maybe she just discovered a hidden side of herself, or maybe she just needed a moment to express her deeper fantasies.

In heels and her hottest lingerie, she played announcer while music was on. "And now: Quinn Heady!"

Pretending to be a catwalk model she walked the apartment up and down, acting like photographers were taking infinity shots of her. Not long and she lined up her artworks in the living room and presented her thoughts on each to an imaginary audience.

"Headlines," said she, her hands placing the words in the air, "artist and model, Quinn Heady, says 'my bullies brought me here'."

She kept acting for long and it developed from harmless interviews to melodramatic theater plays. With her hand in air and a theatrical expression, classic music played in the back. "Be or not be!" she spoke with strong chest voice.

Her heart flipped when the doorbell rang, had her staring in shock into the hall. Panic-struck, she turned the music off and wrapped the blanket from the couch around her body before rushing to the door, trying not to make any sounds in her heels. As she looked through the spy, Law stood outside and knocked when it took her longer to answer. _What are you doing here?!_

She opened the door, looking through a slim small gap at him. "Hi."

Law stay mute by her secretive gaze, his eyes not hiding the penetrant movement up and down on her, wondering the hell she was doing.

Quinn's eyes shifted briefly aside and she inhaled, moving her mouth corners up to an uncomfortable smile. "...Don't you have to be at work?"

"My shift was postponed by an hour," said he, "and I was just close by, closer than to my place."

With small eyes, she looked at him, both remaining silence for short. His face stayed cool as always.

"...Did you hear it?"

"I can pretend I did not."

"Please." Quinn's mouth corners then turned up. "Sooooo, you wanna spend time with me?"

"I-"

"Come in, come in, come in," she interrupted him, stepping away to lead him inside. Both feet inside and door closed, she smiled. "Gimme a sec, don't run away."

As she toddled her way to her room in her heels, Law quietly stared after her, having his own thought on the matter. He got rid of his shoes and casually headed to the living room to sit at the kitchen table, his eyes not able to avoid the artsy clutter she had brought from her bedroom.

Right after, Quinn got back in sweatpants and a tee. "Sooooooo, how ya doing? What are your plans for today beside giving me company? Ah, right, work! How is work? What's up?" She sat down in front of him with a big smile.

"Don't you wanna tell me what's rather up with _you?_ "

Her eyes grew bigger as in oblivion. "Huh? What's with me?"

"You seem a little..." And her grin was so scatty. "Lonely."

"Whaaaaat? I'm not lonely, I'm great," she claimed indignantly. "Anyway! You hungry? Thirsty? Do you want something to snack?" Not letting him even answer, she got up to the fridge, taking out fruits. "Pardon me, I was really slow. That should've been the first thing to ask, but I was a little distracted. I'm excused! You came out of nowhere!"

In speed light, she started to cut the fruits into pieces, having Law's eyes peer. "Be careful."

"We've lots of fruits here, you can have as much as you want. I always tend to buy a little when I'm outside, I should really stop that habit. Judy doesn't eat that much and I can't consume them all in ti- ouch!" Cut herself, she put the bleeding thumb into her mouth and let down the knife, going for the box of band aids in the kitchen drawer.

"Told you," Law said calmly, watching her.

"I've said ouch, but it didn't hurt that much, so don't worry," she responded, immediately returning to the fruits after she had treated her cut.

His eyes swiftly looked back to the artworks standing around, but he didn't try much to figure out what she had been doing before he came. Lined up art; hiding under a blanket; high heels and theatrical play? Too much for his brain to process.

"Anyway, okay, I got strawberries, mango, melon, bananas, raspberries, do you like pineapple?" she said then, bringing his eyes back to her. "I think we still got some- oh nevermind, no pineapple. I'm actually not a big fan of pineapples, they kinda hurt my tongue, but I like pineapple on pizza! It's refreshing, do you like pineapple on pizza? Do you like pizza in general? You don't like bread, right? Wait, I can recall Shachi to have told you do eat pizza, but only those thin ones and you leave out the borders. Just like a child, hehe! As a child I loved the borders the most, I remember to once have a pizza with cheese inside them!"

Quinn placed the fruit bowl on the table, jabbing two forks inside. "So! Enjoy it!" She then sat down again. "Are you even eating enough fruits? You need the vitamins! Well, whom am I telling that, you're a doctor, you should know that. Hey, do doctors nourish like it's-"

"Peanut."

Quinn's fingers touched her shut mouth right away, staring at Law in mild daze. "I'm sorry." Quietly, she lifted her fork with a piece of melon and ate it with her eyes set to the side.

Law first just watched her, how she avoided eye contact and trying hard to not make a sound while chewing. "I usually refrain from pineapple on pizza," said he then.

Her eyes moved back at him. "Usually. So it's nothing you're totally against?"

"Haven't had enough to actually remember the taste."

"I see, I see." Seeing that he didn't move a muscle to reach his fork, she got up again, taking the bowl back to the kitchen counter and left the guy with rose brow in wonder. "Sorry, I feel like drinking those is way better now." Quinn put the fruits into the blender. "Hey, how annoying am I? 1 to 10."

"11."

She smiled with small respiration. "You wanna hear a fruit joke?"

"Actually, no."

"Too late, what do you call two banana peels?"

"No."

"A pair of slippers."

Silence.

Quinn turned around to him. "Aw, come ooon." She giggled. "Wasn't that bad."

Leaned back nonchalantly, he said, "it might take a century till we share the same humor."

"Well, either we find the middle ground or you have to stop being macabre."

"How about less? That would be the middle ground."

"But that means I have to become macabre at all, so I'm practically losing something."

"Wasn't your orphan joke pretty macabre? I recall it to be your favorite."

Quinn rolled her eyes, smiling. "Yeaaaah, but that joke's special! It's an exception"

Law didn't add more but only watched her doing. The noise of the blender would drown their words anyway. Next to him leaned a little oil painting, showing something too abstract for him to understand. He eyed it a bit before his gaze wandered back to Quinn, who had caught him staring.

She turned the noisy blender off, telling with an audible smile, "this is called Anteros' Alienation And Acceptance."

He raised a brow with a tiny twitch of a smile himself. "Anteros?"

"Mythological spoken: son of Ares - god of war, and son of Aphrodite - god of love, beauty and pleasure." She came back to the table with two smoothie glasses. "Tadah." As they sat across each other again, she looked at the painting herself. "Anteros represents... requited love. Avenger of those that don't appreciate love. Punishing unrequited love."

"So what's with the title?" Law asked, brow still rose in interest.

Quinn looked at him with a small smile. "This painting depicts his downfall to unrequited love. He's confused and in shock that vengeance can't be the solution to everything and eventually has to learn to accept it."

Law moved his eyes back to her and she was looking at him, still carrying a little smile, which seemed to had swallowed unpleasant emotions. "Timeless," said he and she nodded with a snigger.

"I guess."

"A recent painting?"

"Ah, no," said she then, shaking her head. "I've painted this years ago when I was still in college. Just a result of my one-sided very first love."

Having a quick stare at it again, Law inhaled and taking his smoothie glass. "Debatable. Must be hard for an artist to throw out old work."

Quinn laughed. "Nah, I'm not attached to my work. They were created for the moment to let loose of what's in my mind. I'm just keeping it because it's a sign of maturing to me. You know, Anteros was created for Eros to grow and mature."

Law chuckled through his upturned lips. "And Eros is?"

"Well, Eros is his brother, who's also god of love, but-" Looking at Law's amused face, her mouth opened for an embarrassed laugh. "I'm sorry, I think that much mythology isn't interesting to you."

"Debatable."

"Anyway! Hey, do you remember that morning you were here before we really knew one another?"

He tilted his head a little to his shoulder, trying to understand what she meant.

"That day it had rained cat and dogs and I just came back from working out, soaked to the bones."

"Ah. I do remember." Law looked at his glass. "That day you offered me a smoothie as well."

Quinn nodded in joy. "This is only half a year ago, but it feels like years to me. I think back then, you also called me Quinn instead of Miss Heady the first time. Did I call you Law? I don't think so, I dunno. Hey, what's with the Peanut anyway? I can't even remember when and why."

"Why?" he said, "I liked the irony. When? I don't know either."

Quinn took a few gulps from her drink and put it back down, exhaling in relish. "Ouh man, I thought we would never get along. I genuinely was convinced you were the biggest jerk in history to that time and now I'm here talking to you about nugatory stuff! I mean, everything that followed _after_ that morning. That morning was pretty fine."

Law leaned with his elbow on the table, chin settled in his hand. "Thanks, guess you've stopped considering me one."

"You're still a jerk, just not making records with it."

He chuckled into his hand. "A jerk and a windbag, how is this combo possible?"

"Well, I'm a windbag with incredible patience, and you, you're a not so bad jerk."

"Or I'm the one with incredible patience, bearing more wind than necessary," said he, leaning back before drinking from his smoothie.

"Oooor I am just cute, and you can't hate me," she joked, both her hands cupping her cheeks.

Putting the glass down, his neutral eyes locked with hers, making her awkward when he remained briefly silent.

"Are you judging me?" asked she, her hands lowering again. "I was kidding."

"I think it's not difficult to actually dislike you." Laid-back again, he sat with his glass close to his smirk. "But well, not disagreeing, you're cute."

"What?" Quinn looked away, her tongue getting squeezed between her small teethy grin that was far from delight. "I've said _I was kidding_ , but great, greaaat to know! You're aware I can bring that up to tease you whenever I want now, right?"

"Well, do as you please," he replied, showing no bother but amusement instead.

"What is this? What are you planning?"

"It bothers you more than me."

Her leery face followed him as he got up after finishing his drink and he halted next to her when narrowed eyes still fixed him. Law then placed one hand on her head like petting an animal. "Why don't you just take it as a compliment?"

A mist of pink formed on her cheeks and he smirked again, heading towards entrance door.

"Well!" Quinn shouted, turning on her chair. "You know what? You're right! _I_ _am_ cute! Finally a positive reality we're sharing!"

Back in his shoes, he walked out the door. "Thanks for the drink, have a nice day."

"Yeah! You better go now!"

As the door was closed, Quinn turned back to the table, the blush still on her cheeks. She sighed, but couldn't stop pressing her lips together into a smile.

* * *

After Law had left the place, it didn't take Quinn long to return to her actual plan before she had embarrassed herself. Shoes tied properly, she jogged her way to the big park in the city center, running across a bunch of familiar faces of her students and their families. Today didn't allow her to be in any bad mood, too peaceful were her surroundings. Park full of people with children laughing and birds chirping, and yet it sounded like the best place to take a nap.

She waved back at those who greeted her, even increasing the length of her route and wouldn't stop, not until her body would give up in total.

Time passed quicker than she thought and the temperature rose in the afternoon hours. Near an empty bench she finally stopped and dragged her exhausted body over to have a seat. She felt different to that morning, much better and couldn't wait to sit down and let her mind soak in her beautiful surroundings while in relaxation.

An unexpected "hey, Quinn!" made her turn around only to see no one whom she knew. She turned her head a few times when hearing her name again until the person shouted, "I'm up here!"

Scanning the upper level then, she was surprised to see Ace on a tree before he jumped down from it to greet her properly.

"Hey, what were you doing up there all by yourself?" said Quinn in joy to see him.

Ace raised his arms for a stretch before answering. "Just chilling, you know, everyone's-"

"At work," she finished his sentences with a grin. "I feel you."

He took place next to her as she had sat down on the bench, starting the usual small talk of her reason to be around. Quinn told him how her holidays went so far, being alone the majority of the week since everyone had no day off and worked even overtime after their holidays.

"I'm pretty much with the Revolutionaries a few hours every day, but today Sabo-" Ace's hands clasped over his mouth straight off, eyes ambling cautiously over to Quinn.

"It's alright," she said, calmly, almost as if it had never been a real issue before.

A slight grin formed on his face, much in guilt. "I'm sorry, how tactless of me."

"This is history, just say what you were going to say," she told, head's shaking.

Still hesitating for a moment, he eyed her face thoroughly to make sure she wasn't just bluffing. But Quinn did appear unconcerned. "Well... today Sabo seems to be really busy, I actually couldn't find anyone to hang out with. So yeah, that's why I was enjoying this weather all by myself."

"I see..." left Quinn's mouth in subtle ponder, making him feeling bad again to had continued as she had wanted. She was curious about more though. "Can I ask you something? I mean, maybe you don't know, but asking doesn't cost me anything, I suppose. You don't need to lie when you don't wanna say anything, just say no, but maybe you wanna say something, but someone else doesn't want me to know, I mean, doesn't have to be me specifically but outstanders in general. I-"

He tittered. "Hey, just ask me already."

"What's with him and Koala?"

Expression changed to mild stagger, he leaned back and got more comfortable, a small sigh leaving him. "It's complicated." Curious, she kept quiet to listen. "I'm not sure what they have talked about after the break up, but it seems like they're trying hard to keep things normal."

"Normal...," she repeated, "so they are not...?"

"Nope."

Ace's eyes side glanced Quinn as she pulled her knees up to her chest and stared pensively into space. She remained quiet for a little, processing the current situation in her head and made him feeling somewhat awkward.

"Poor Koala," said she then. "Sabo is such an idiot."

He couldn't help but agree with her as her tone was meant the same he was feeling. There was no contemn behind but care, interest and small exasperation.

"Hey, but you wouldn't find it correct either if they would've jumped into a relationship together right after your break up," Ace said.

"Of course I wouldn't, I'm just saying he's an idiot in general." Quinn got up from the bench, stretching her body with a fulfilled yawn. "I want ice cream. You with me?"

The two spent the time together then, not another word about Sabo had fallen those hours. When she was back in her apartment and prepared to stay home for the rest of the day, it took only a couple of hours to make her switching back into her street wear and leaving the place all by herself in the early evening again.

* * *

"Alone today?" Milo asked as he found Quinn at the bar counter, sitting at one lonely end. She sat with her face pressed against her hand as if she would fall asleep any moment. He opened a ginger ale bottle and put a straw in, placing it right in front of her. "Ye need sugar. On the house."

Smiling, she straightened a little and held the bottle. "Thank you, guess that really makes me feel better."

"Better? Did something happen?"

Quinn took a sip. "No, actually not. Maybe I'm just missing work."

"Missing work?" he repeated in disbelief, chuckling. "I smell something fishy."

"Nothing fishy here! Can't I just miss my beloved students after a long summer?"

"If ye say so." However, his amusement was still on his face as he walked away to serve other costumers.

Quinn slitted her eyes and pouted at him. "Something fishy he said, pff."

An unusual occasion for her to have a drink in the bar alone, make her having more time to regard the place from another point of view. Around this time, customers were still seen rather few, let her realize how big the bar actually was. The first part only got standing tables whereas the second part could be filled with bigger parts of groups. This place gathered more memories together in the last half year than ever in her life. It was the place where all of them became close, where good and bad was discussed and experienced, simply perfect to meet new people.

From the corner of her eyes, Quinn sighted the waitress she's been thinking of a lot the last few days. The woman walked behind the bar counter, doing cleaning duties instead of serving, since no one was around anyway. As their eyes met, Quinn's shifted immediately away. The waitress didn't say a word but continued her work while Quinn wondered if she could allow herself another brief look again.

"You're one of Trafalgar's friends."

Pressured of the sudden approach, Quinn looked at her stiffly, smiling at the working woman. "Uhm yeah! Hi! Quinn!" She remembered that the waitress had already introduced herself by name last time, but couldn't memorize it. Being shy to ask again, she only smiled at her.

"Stella."

"Right, Stella," said she then, pointing with her finger at her. Stella didn't continue to make small talk, but Quinn felt obligated to do. "You're very pretty by the way...!"

Pausing cleaning the work surface, Stella's face tilted to her and she replied with slow voice, cautious about her compliment, "Thanks... you too..."

"Ah no, but thank you very much! And, I just felt like telling you that, don't need to be so weirded out. I like making compliments! Just the way I feel, and I feel to tell people good things about them."

Stella nodded before quietly returning to work away from the bar. Quinn struggled to not watch her, scanning the woman up and down. She was slightly shorter than herself, her straight dark her tied to a bun, physique petite and small chested, but hips curvy. Of course, Law only chose the best of the best and this woman was obviously a 10/10. She wouldn't be able to decide between Judy and her if a biased choice wouldn't exist. _Maybe I should go brunette too..._

As Stella came back, working right in front of her, she surprised Quinn with a question. "If you don't mind telling, but did Trafalgar say anything regarding the party next weekend?"

"Ah, he said he won't go."

Quinn saw her processing the information quickly in her head. "I see."

"Yeah, but don't take it personal. He's just not the most social type when there's no need to."

Stella looked at her. "I figured that."

Only an awkward small laughter came from Quinn's mouth, which she promptly stuffed with saltsticks and ginger ale.

"I'm still surprised that he got so many friends then."

Quinn swallowed a big chunk of the mashed snack and her drink, clearing her throat. "I'd say we just happened to become friends after seeing each other quite often. I first hesitated to call him so too."

From the back, Milo joined them during his inventuring. "Ladies, making acquaintances?"

"We've talked before, so it's not that new," Stella claimed with a semi-interested tone.

As she walked away and was out of audio-range, Quinn's mouth corners sank visibly. "Meh, I think she doesn't like me."

"Think so?" said Milo, looking with both brows up at her. "What reason would ye bring to make Stella not liking ye?"

"I dunno, just doesn't feel like I can catch up with her."

An uncomfortable smile grew on his face and his eyes moved from her to the side back and forward. "Maybe it's because yer friends with that guy."

"Huh, that guuuy?" Quinn repeated surprised. "Law?"

Milo shrugged his shoulders. "They'd been flirting the whole night and next morning he never contacted her again."

"It was a one night staaaaand, he said he had made it clear." She pouted then. "Also, meh, I'm not Law."

"Sweetie," said he, slightly shaking his head, "I know, but still. Building bonds the whole night and then being let down like that? Not so cool."

"Yeaaaaah, buuut... meh." Folding her arms over the counter, she gritted her teeth with sunken mouth corners. "Stupid doctor, always making my life harder."

He chuckled a little by her sight. "It's yer choice whom ye allow to be part of yer life, but well." Quinn looked up at him, still mockingly displeased. "Ye do have found someone who cares a lot about ye."

"Huuuuh?" was her reaction, but not making Milo say any more since he left the bar again. She leaned her head against one hand, tired in appearance. _Of course he cares about me, that's what friends do. I do too, do I? Yes, I totally do. I, Quinn Heady, care a lot about Dr. Law Trafalgar._

Stella's return pulled her out of her thoughts and she straightened back, not hesitating to ask, "do you hate him so much?"

Stella paused and turned to her, hands on her hips. "Hate? I barely know him to actually hate," she snorted at herself. "Just a great flirt, incredible sex and a big disappointment after."

Quinn furrowed her brows. "I'm sorry for that, but he's really not that bad." How many times yet had she told that someone? Maybe he was worse than she thought, all in all it was her first impression too and if he hadn't allowed her more introperspective, she probably would still think like anyone else. "Just selective."

"Selecting whom he can mistreat and whom not."

"No-"

"Are you a mistress of him?"

Dumbfounded, she looked at the slightly annoyed woman. "What?!"

Casual, almost sluggish, Stella stood in front of her and stared like she was ready to punch her babbling company. "Have you slept with each other and it was so good that he stayed in touch with you? Is that the 'friendship just happened'?"

"No!" Quinn claimed right away, blushing. "We're just good friends!"

"I see." Eyeing her briefly up and down, Stella then continued to work. "He might treat others right, but I can only judge my experiences with him."

"Maybe not judging at all?"

"It's not a case you can expect me to have no opinion on him."

Her madness straight out reminded her of Judy. It was the same situation with emotions only distinguish in Judy having unrequited feelings and Stella feeling bothered by being robbed her dignity. And Quinn could understand their positions pretty well, she once herself had felt Law's way of making a fool out of her firsthand. "I'm sorry if he had hurt you..."

Stella sighed. "Don't get me wrong. I mean, it's been awhile, but still, it's just not a nice feeling to be left with. Being treated like that after," she exhaled with an eye roll, "getting personal, tons of compliments and exchange of genuine laughter."

* * *

Judy's arrival home after work was always quite late, but on that night she had surpassed herself and got home later than Quinn should actually be awake. Inside the dark apartment, she found her roommate half over the dining table with two candles lit by her side.

"Hey, Quinn," Judy said, switching the light on and stepped closer to blow out the candles. "You shouldn't sleep here."

"I'm not sleeping," she murmured, not lifting her head.

"I see, so no hello for me?"

"Sorry, hi, you're pretty late." Idly, Quinn raised herself to look at her. "And I was thinking."

"Thinking about what?" Judy asked while walking to the sink to wash her hands. "Came to the realization that your holiday's almost over?"

"Yeah, that too." She got up with hanging shoulders, swaying her way to her room while Judy watched her wordless.

"My, my, that girl. Always stressing her mind about whoknowswhat."

Quinn almost had forgotten about the party, but her encounter with Stella today dragged her thoughts back to it. She didn't even know why it meant so much to her. Maybe because she wanted her to know the real Law? Maybe she wanted to know _her_ more. Howsoever.

Phone in her hands, she stared at the bright screen, knowing exactly what she was tempted to do, but didn't. Quinn hesitated a lot, the feeling was similar to when meeting a stranger and being unsure about how to behave. For a moment then, she turned the screen off and put her phone aside again, reconsidering her needs. Seconds of doing nothing disturbed her enough to have her go back to the device.

Listed in 'contacts', she read Law's name, quietly pondering. Would it be weird to text him? Too random? He strictly told her not to spam him, but would it make a difference to how she behaved in person towards him? The content would be the same, just not face to face.

Click.

Quinn typed. _'Hi, are you awake?'_

Her brows curled in doubt the longer she stared at the screen above her face. That was the wrong question.

 _'Hi, are you home?'_ she corrected.

Two times she deleted the same sentence after rewriting it over and over again. Eventually, she stopped herself from thinking too much and sent it. Her smile towards her phone was rather tensed as she inhaled deeply, unsure to regret it or not. Whenever it was about Law, thinking seemed suddenly so overdone. It was always what if, what if and what if?

 _Oh no, what have you done, girl?_ she then thought and slitted her eyes at herself.

Promptly, after ten minutes, she grabbed the device again and opened the conversation as fast as her fingers allowed. _Delete, delete, delete, delete._ It was obviously too late, the message was sent and couldn't be taken back. Quinn cringed at her own message.

Maybe she was overreacting, maybe he just decided to ignore her message, maybe he couldn't get back to it yet, maybe, maybe, maybe.

 _'Law is typing...'_

Quinn's heart jump. Just as her body straight up in sitting position, her, staring in disbelief at the display

 _'No, you alright?'_ the message read. That was his only reply and Quinn took another deep breath, letting the phone fall back to her mattress. It was just... strange. Making conversation with him live versus on her phone, it was something she never had thought of doing and because of his stoic personality and all the bricks she could drop while talking to him. It was harder to assume and interpret his reaction when not being face to face. Was this how Judy always felt talking to him? Not knowing what to say, how to start, etc? Banana peels, they were everywhere all of a sudden.

"Okay, okay, you got this Quinn," she whispered to herself. "It's just talking to him via typed words."

Before she could even reply, another message rolled in. _'Answer me.'_

The time gap between this and his first message was a total of other ten minutes, she didn't even realize how long it took her to digest his previous answer. He even sounded more commanding there than in person, Quinn gave it a wry smirk. On what stage of bluntness should she sort this message in? Maybe he meant it more calmly? Maybe with a cold tone? Maybe with some anger?

As far as she knew him, there were many possibilities. He was no longer a one dimensional character, she had seen him in a considerable amount of emotions that made him more likable the more she spent time with him. Maybe this time it was-

Incoming call...

 _GOD DAMN IT!_

Why was she so freaking nervous? It was just the creepy doctor she was close to enough to not panic like it was a job interview. She even had seen him today, he was in her apartment.

Finally, Quinn picked up the call. "Whaddup, whaddup?"

"Why haven't you answered my message?" He sounded cold, slightly annoyed.

She gulped and smiled awkwardly around. "Well, I was..., it was..., he, she, it was... Hi, what are you doing?"

"Are you home?"

"Yes, yes, I'm home the whole time."

On the other side of the line, she heard a small sigh followed by brief silence. "Sorry, I was in the op room," said he then, tone turned back to normal. "What do you need?"

In guilt of being without important matter, she kept quiet for a moment, still smiling like an idiot.

"Peanut. Answer me."

"I'm sorry, message was meant for someone else. Apparently I accidentally sent it to you." Lying wouldn't be the best solution, but it was a solution that could spare her from explaining herself since she did not know how to.

"You're bad at lying."

Quinn grinned, feeling exposed, but actually not surprised. "That is very true, I really am, I'm sorry for have trying to deceive you."

He sighed again and she face-palmed herself.

"Alriiiight, I guess this call has no point anymore and I'm disturbing and nevermind me, see yaaaa."

"See ya."

The moment the call ended and her phone then faced the mattress again, Quinn fell back on her bed with a loud exhalation. "Why am I like that?" she asked out loud. "Come oooon, Quinn."

To say it was late and she perhaps sleep deprived was no excuse. Either she was overreacting or she was truly stupid at that moment.

Slackly, she forced herself up again, swanking into Judy's bedroom. That one have been brushing her hair calmly while looking into the mirror before staring at her friend's miserable-looking reflection.

"Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you right now?" asked Judy, turning around to her.

Like unable to carry her own weight, Quinn fell on her bed. "I'm so awkwaaaard."

"Okay?" Judy responded, looking from left to right. "Any details now?"

"Yes." Quinn stared up to her and then pushed her torso with her arms up too. "You remember that waitress at the bar right? And she invited Law including us to the party, right? Well, I've asked Law if he wants to go, but he said no, I mean of course he would say no, it's Law, I didn't expect something else, I mean, I would also understand when he would say yes, because that woman was hot, but anyway, he said no."

"So...?"

"I really wanna go to that party. BUT we're basically just invited when he would come, ...I guess. And I'm sure Penguin and Shachi would like to go too, and hey, wouldn't you also like to go? Well, I've thought about asking him again, but I don't wanna annoy him, and and and, I just texted him, but it's so awkward to text him and I feel really guilty now because it was something totally trivial, I mean, I didn't even ask him about the party but just some 'hi, are you home?' and then he called after it took me too long to answer, and he sounded kinda annoyed and I still wanna go to that party, and meh, why am I so stupid?"

"Wow."

Not getting her blunt reaction, Quinn's face questioned her in despair.

"How are you awkward with him, when you talk so freely to him in person?" asked Judy, continuing to brush her hair while staring into the mirror. "Why not just telling him again that you really wanna go, and why do you wanna attend that party so much anyway?"

"I don't knoooow, party sounds fuuun, distraction, free food, whatever, I dunno!"

Hair brush down, Judy tilted her face to her. "Really? Not because you wanna check out his and that waitress' relation to each other?"

Quinn furrowed her brows. "What? No? Why should that interest me?"

"I don't know, maybe because you're... jealous?"

"What?!" Quinn blushed slightly. "Why the hell should I be jealous? This was just some random chick to him, being jealous makes no sense at all. And even if it wasn't some random chick, great! I'm happy for him! The only reason I'd stalk her is for you! Yeah! I wanna attend that party to stalk her for you. Exposed. Yap. Well well."

Judy shook her head a little with a subtle eye roll. "Whatever."

"Nooo, not whatever," Quinn moaned. "I'm really not jealoooous, I swear. You know who's jealous? You are jealous! Ha ha! Exposed!"

"Quinn."

"I'm sorry."

Judy gave her a smile, little touched from her eyes. "Just ask him again."

"What?"

"It's 'just Law', isn't it?" said she, her smile then spreading more over her face. "Just ask him, he won't be that annoyed of you."

"' _That_ annoyed' is good," Quinn repeated.

"And if so, he's annoyed easily, but also easily gets back to normal," Judy said and got up, walking out of her room while Quinn followed her slowly. "You can't get more than another 'no'. Also, when texting feels so awkward, why not just calling him? That's what phones are made for after all."

"Meh, you're right... but a 'no' is stupid, why's he like thaaat?"

"Yeah, why's he like that?" Judy asked with a sarcastic smile. "Really, don't ask me why he behaves in any way. I don't get this man."

"Judy?"

Turned to Quinn as she had stopped at the bathroom door, she saw her friend with a suddenly more intimidated expression. Almost sad. "What is?"

"Are you mad at me?"

"Huh?" Her brows rose. "Why should I?"

Quinn briefly looked down to the side, shrugging. "Because I'm pretty good friends with him...? I feel like you're mad at me because of that..."

Judy studied her face, seeing compunction that wasn't supposed to be there. Not the slightest. "Hey," said she and received the girl's eyes back on her, "I have no reason to be mad at you."

"Then you're mad at Law...?"

"I-" Judy stepped back and sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "No, I'm not mad at him either. It's just, I'm mad at myself, alright?" She opened the bathroom door, grabbed her tooth brush and smeared the tooth paste somewhat vigorously on it. "It's fine that you two get along, don't worry. I just chose the wrong guy to break my head over. I'll be fine, he doesn't interest me that much anyway."

"Then why were ya crying back then?"

Holding an annoyed sigh thinking back to that night, she faced her friend. "Quinn. I've said it's alright. I was drunk, okay?"

"But-"

"Quinn! I was drunk!"

"I'm sorry."

Walking towards the door, she made Quinn stepped away so she could brush her teeth in peace. "You should go to sleep already. Hoosh hoosh."

Door closed, Quinn called at her again. "Judy, I'm really sorry for asking too much!"

"It's alri-ight," she received as answer in singsong.

Back to her room, Quinn stared at her phone and walked with stiff confidence up to it. Judy was right, there was nothing to make a big fuss out of, she just had to call him. His number was even already dialed, she just had to press the call button. _You can do it, Quinn!_

Calling...

Law picked up, his voice low and calm. "Yeah?" It already sounded like he wouldn't expect much of this call.

"Hey, it's me, Peanut! I-I mean Quinn!"

"What is it this time? Finally couraged up to ask what you wanted before?"

"Yeah!" she responded confidently. "I'm sorry that this question will be very unimportant to you and that I bother you, but anyway, here we go! I wanna go to the party next weekend, can we please go?"

Silence.

"...don't be so quiet."

"Peanut," he started with this typical tone he had when tiredly calling her out. "Why don't you go without me when you wanna go so badly?"

"Uhh, because she obviously only said we can come too because politeness and for ya comfort?"

"And?"

"Yeah! It would be hella weird if we go, but you not! Because we're not directly invited, we're just your company."

"Why you're so annoying..." she heard him mumbling from the speakers away.

"Please forgive me, Doc," said she, "and let's go to that party."

"Give me one good reason to do so."

She casually lied down on her bed, keeping the talk. "Oh well, I can give you ten reasons if you want. First, free food. Second, we would spend time as a group again. Third, break from ya monotonous life. Fourth, have I mentioned free food? Fifth, -"

"Flaw number 26, saying more than asked."

"Wow, how do you even remember that? It's been so long, sure it was 26? Sounds more like flaw number one. You know what's your next flaw? Well, I don't even remember where I've stopped, maybe it was flaw number 100. Yeah, 100 sounds accurate. Flaw number 100, being boring!"

"You can't call someone boring just because he doesn't wanna go to a party."

"I know, but I'll call you that anyway. Hey, how are you? Ah, you're boring."

"Peanut," Law started again, "shouldn't you already be sleeping anyway?"

Her eyes shifted to her watch that stood beside, the time hitting past 3AM. It was indeed late and she stared at the ceiling. Hadn't he said he had been in the op room not long ago? She retreated her voice from the clatter. "And what about you?"

"I'm still at work," Law told and her face turned soft.

"Aren't you tired?"

"I am."

He sounded tired. He sounded very tired. Sometimes Quinn forgot how exasperating shift work actually was. Law had a working schedule, but it never meant that his working hours went according to it. Right then when he was talking to her, he probably preferred to rest and not dealing with her hullabaloo.

"Are you done with work today?" she asked, trying to be more sensitive.

"There are things for the records left, else I'm done." It was amazing how casual he said that, completely unaffected of his duties. Quinn knew he was, but he just didn't make a big deal of it and handled it like a professional. "Peanut, go to sleep."

"Hey. You're a great human-being."

He probably had an idiotic smirk on his face again during the silence she caused, but Quinn couldn't help but smile by the thought. When Law smirked, it meant he felt confident, and a confident Law was a good-mooded Law.

"Good night, Peanut."

And even though he sounded stoic as ever, she was sure she could hear the smirk through the speakers. "Good night, Doc."

* * *

 _ **A/N: next chapter will be up next week! Much obliged for the feedback, I appreciate them a lot!**_


	53. Black licorice

**53\. Black licorice**

"I didn't say I'm here for the party, I just wanna check on you after work!"

"That's very kind of you, but I'm busy; leave me alone," Law said with no vulgarity.

"Huuuuh? You're not busy, you're just-" Quinn eyed Law as he chilled on his office chair with his feet on his desk. "Sleeping!" she finished when he didn't bother to open an eye for her, let alone be bothered that she visited him in the office.

"Sleeping is also an activity."

"If you're so serious about it, why sleeping here in the office chair when there's a more comfortable on-call room?"

Law opened his eyes, though granted her no look first, and put his legs down. She watched him leaning a little to the desk of his colleague to grab a hand full peanuts out of a bowl.

His calm demeanor didn't go and he showed no hesitation in throwing a peanut near Quinn, make her flinching and shouting, "what are you doing?!"

"Go home already," said he with lazy eyes.

Quinn narrowed her's a little. "You know I can die by those."

He smirked, still nonchalant. "You won't die when I'm around."

"Well, I- stop!" After dodging another peanut, she pointed at the floor where she assumed it had landed, yelling, "I won't pick them up, those are bombs!"

"Don't have to, just let me rest."

Hands on her hips, eyes still on him with half-sunken lids, he earned a small sarcastic smile from her. "Fine, I'm leaving now. I'm glad you're fine blah blah. Oh, and cool that you got your car back. Bye."

She was cautious about the rest of the peanuts in his hand, thus shuffled backward to the door. Law's gaze followed her slow way out, ridiculously serene therefore that he even had attacked her in order for her to leave (she didn't take it so seriously anyway). A halt at the door and she rooted again only to stare with no change in expression. The hand might touch the handle, but she only stood there with that stupid face. And he returned the stare with his stupid serenity.

Whack!

"I'm sorry! Is everything alright?!" another doctor said after he had accidentally hit Quinn's head with the door.

Quinn held the aching spot while facing the ground, fighting not to moan out too loud in pain. "I'm fine, I'm fine..."

The man looked at her and couldn't identify her as staff, hence looked at Law for explanation. "Does she belong to you?"

"No, just a stupid stranger," said he.

"Mind your tongue!" Quinn said in mild rage before she turned to the man next to her and pointed at Law. "Doctor, this guy is attacking me with life-threatening peanuts!"

"I told you, I won't let you die when I'm around." He flipped another peanut at her.

"Staahp it already! And what if I get a heart attack when I walk out and you won't notice anything of it because you're busy sleeping? Huh?!"

A soft yet cheeky smile formed his face and he flipped another peanut, which she also dodged. "Doesn't repeal my statement. You're in a building full of professionals."

"Urgh, heart attack," Quinn grunted in mock, holding her chest with one hand whilst the other reached into space.

"Right, maybe I should finally treat your heart when you don't know."

She straightened again. "You know I can sue you for this."

"You won't. You'll be very grateful instead."

"Ahaaa? For what?"

"For taking the decision off your shoulders."

Unable to riposte, she gave up and slit her eyes. "See ya tomorrow for the party," were her final words before she walked out of the office room.

Law twitched from his chair. "Oi! I've said I'm not-"

As she was gone then, he sighed a little through his gritted teeth. His colleague that had been standing on the same spot watching the two the whole time said nothing but gawped in surprise and confusion. Thanks to Quinn, Law earned a few of those stares nowadays. He didn't care though and returned to his nap.

* * *

The fellow day, Quinn and Shachi hung out in the evening, facing the sunset as they had settled on swings on an empty playground. Although calendarian-wise fall would begin around the end of September, they noticed how quick the temperatures dropped during the day while they also became shorter and shorter as the month had started. Not necessarily cold, but distinctly different.

"Hmm... and that's why you think she doesn't like you," said Shachi. "Maybe you should talk less."

Quinn's brows curled at him. "Aww, not you too!"

He giggled a little into her face. "I was just kidding. I don't know that Stella, but I somewhat remember the night they hooked up. Was way before we met you. Why are you so interested in her anyway?"

"I," she stopped for a second to find an excuse, "...just see no reason for her to be so clingy to Law."

Shachi raised a brow with a sly smile. "Aren't you the clingy one?"

Appalled, Quinn showed a weak blush. "I'm not clingy!"

"Just kidding!" he repeated, laughing. As Quinn looked back upfront, remaining quiet for a bit, he leaned a little over to her. "C'moooon, I really was just kidding."

Her lips tensed a bit to a straight line and she appeared in hesitancy. "I wanna tell you a secret," said she, surprising him. He anticipated her to continue and she faced him, still in waver. "Ah no, I'm not sure."

"Something about Stella?"

"No; I mean, not really."

Shachi was clueless. "Okay?"

Grasping the chains of the swing tightly with her fists, Quinn inhaled deeply. She let out the air all at once. "Promise me that when I tell you, you won't talk about it to anyone else." As his lips just opened for a commentary, she jerked her head closer, stopping him, "not even Penguin!"

"Can I ask what it's about first?"

She stared into his eyes with no blink, eyebrows narrowed with fiery determination so that he attempted to smile to get rid of the tension.

"Judy," she told and leaned back, not letting go of his eyes for a few seconds more.

Shachi's expression eased. "That she likes Law?"

"No-" Shock, she paused and her eyes darted away. "What? What are you talking about?"

"Judy likes Law, doesn't she?"

"Pff, you're funny, of course not!" Seeing him staring at her rather phlegmatic, Quinn's posture shrank with a wry smile. "Yeeeee...noooo? ...Yesss." Both stared at each other in silence and she couldn't help but keep smiling wryly. "How?"

"Even a blind can see that," he claimed and turned his head back to his front, slightly glimpsing at the ground. "Judy's the type to avoid mentioning him in any way when he's not around as much as she can, to pretend she doesn't care about him. Whenever I bring up Law, she acts unnaturally uninterested."

"Since when you know?"

"Pretty long. Penguin kinda knows too, those aren't news."

"Oh." Quinn cocked her body, shifting her butt a little on the swing and forced a more confident smile on herself. "Well theeeen; you know," said she and stared into space, explaining awkwardly, "I care about Judy's feelings to Law, and then there's Stella, and I just wanna see a liiiiittle bit how things would go between him and another woman. I mean, I know Law seems pretty uninterested, but it's not a common occasion for us to see him interacting with other women but us. Sure, you have seen way more, but that was before us! Anyway, as we were in the bar and that waitress came and acted so confident and-"

"Can I ask you something?" he interrupted her, almost as if he had quit listening.

Quinn stopped to look at the suddenly yielding face. "Uh, sure."

"Why do you think Judy likes Law? Besides he's handsome and good in bed."

"Uhm..."

"I mean, whenever I look at her, she seems very unhappy. Don't get me wrong, I admire him, but... He obviously doesn't care about her in that way."

"Well... Judy's..." Quinn said, looking up as speculating. She then looked back at the guy. "I honestly don't know."

His brows knitted together, making him look somewhat irritated. "Do so many girls really like only 'bad boys'? What's about being treated like a lady? What's so good about bad boys?" His rant came to halt when he noticed Quinn's smile at him, something between amusement and... adoration. "Why you looking at me like that?"

"You're absolutely right," she said and faced her front, slowly moving the swing back and forward. "You're a good guy, so stay a good guy and you'll be rewarded sooner or later. Don't try anything you're not."

Shachi's face flushed. "I-I wasn't thinking of trying anything...!"

"Heeeey, what's up with your shop by the way?" she changed the topic with blithe, "when is it open?"

"I've planned on doing next week!" he responded right away, "y'all should come, I wanna toast with champagne!"

"Nice! You can count on me."

"BOOH!" came out of nowhere from behind and Quinn shrieked while Shachi startled with a scream.

Seeing Penguin laughing as their hearts were pumping in shock, Shachi pushed the guy on his arm. "Oh fuck off!"

Quinn was holding her hand to her chest, slightly panting.

He was still recovering from his laughter as Shachi asked with half-lidded eyes, "what are you doing here?"

Standing between the two, Penguin grabbed the chains of each swing and was slowly turning back to normal. "Oh man, your faces, priceless... I'm here to pick you up."

The two have their heads turned up to him, Quinn wondering with a "huh?"

"Law's waiting."

...

Inside Law's car, Quinn looked suspiciously at each person that appeared very relaxed in comparison. The atmosphere was too light, so as if it was a matter of course to be there without preplanning. None of them seemed to mind the strange situation but Quinn.

"Okay, what's going on here?" she said.

"Party," Law answered dryly, turning on the engine after all seat belts were fastened.

"What?"

In the passenger seat, Penguin bent to look a little behind him where Quinn sat. "Judy's still at work, but she'll come later."

"What?"

Shachi pointed with his flat open hands at his clothes. "Oh dang, why haven't told me before? Can I show up like that?"

"Hey, I just came from work and still smell like gasoline," Penguin told with a smile, getting back comfortably into his seat while watching the road.

Quinn was still in disbelief. "Okay, can anyone tell me who blackmailed our driver?"

"He just called me today and told me he'd go," said Penguin.

With a grin, Shachi patted Law's shoulder from behind. "Oi, what's up with ya?"

The joy in their tone was not to overhear, Penguin speaking in big relaxation, "I've heard they've barbecue outside, I'm starving. Only had breakfast today."

"Let's go there and eat, and then we can disappear again," Shachi joked, "I've had dinner only two hours ago, but free food!"

"Have you eaten already, Quinn?" As Penguin received no answer from her, his head slightly tilted around again. "Quinn?"

"Hm, she spaced out," the redhead said next to her, waving a hand in front of her frozen face with eyes still minimized in disbelief. "Earth to Pumpquinn."

"Whaaat the shitting hell's going on here?" Quinn asked almost monotonously.

...

The sun was already down when they arrived at the dorms where the party was said to be. People left and got inside every now and then, and some hung out in front of the main entrance on their own.

Quinn eyed their location and was still wondering about their appearance there. When Law said "let's go," she was the last to walk after him.

It was not hard to grasp where the party was being held. The building had broad corridors and a secession was packed with people and empty plastic cups standing around. Those you found at any party. All kind of people were there, from overdressed girls to the nerdy folk. 19-25 must have been the majority, but also not unlikely to find someone above.

The communal lounge, which had been converted to the party room, had a big exit to the backyard where they played music and grilled. But also inside you could grab snacks and drinks, enjoying your time with the silliest people that either knew each other their whole life or not at all.

"I know we've just arrived, but you'll find me where food is," Penguin said and followed the smell of grilled meat outside.

Shachi ran after him. "Wait for me!"

From a circle of people, Stella looked up at Quinn and Law in big surprise. "Oh my god, hi," she said, approaching the two with a cup of soda in her hand and fixed Law as she stood in front of them. "I haven't expected you to come. Quinn told you wouldn't."

Law was eyeing the place stoically. "Became spontaneous."

"I see. How are you? Are you two okay?"

His eyes wandered back to her. "You get through life."

She smiled and looked at Quinn next, who was still sunken in her mind so that Law peered down to her as well.

As Quinn noticed their stares, she snapped out of her thoughts. "Uh, what? I-I'm good; yeah, can't be better, how are you?"

"Is it only the two of you?" Stella asked them.

"No no, Shachi and Peng-" Quinn grasped late that the other two guys weren't around anymore. "Uh, nevermind Shachi and Penguin. Judy, the tall brunette if you remember, she might come later though."

"Ah, I see," said Stella, smiling at the out-spaced girl rather compulsorily. "Hope you'll have fun."

Quinn nodded, giving back that smile and then looked up at Law, who said nothing but glanced at her from the corner of his lazy eyes. She inhaled quietly and bit her lower lip. "Uhm..." Pointing to the yard, she stepped away from them. "I'll go looking for food too, see ya."

They looked after her, Stella asking, "is she always that awkward?"

Law didn't respond but only watched the blonde swiftly before moving from the spot, having Stella went along.

* * *

Shachi and Penguin were already eating when Quinn stepped up to their bistro table, which she struggled only a little to find in the weak lighting and bunch of other people.

"Hey, found Stella yet?" Penguin asked the moment he acknowledged her while eating his grilled fish.

"Yeah, she's with Law right now."

Not getting his eyes away from his food, Shachi told with half-stuffed mouth, "this is so good, you really have to try those kebabs."

"There's still a lot," Penguin added, "so, eat as much as you can!"

Shachi stopped to look at her. "Wanna try?"

She declined with a smile. "Meat."

"Oh right," he replied, his voice lowering softly. "Ah! They also have cake, thought you'd like some."

"That's awesome! I'll get a piece later," she said. Looking from left to right and seeing both busy enjoying their food, Quinn patted on both's shoulder. "Anyway! Will get something to drink, okay?"

"Sure," said Shachi, thus she walked away from them and earned both stares at her back.

"She seems a little outta place, don't you think?"

* * *

Meanwhile, in the party room, Law and Stella had found a lonely bistro table to stand across from each other, both holding cups with different drinks in their hands. Though talking to her wasn't on his agenda when he came, it didn't chafe either.

Even less Stella; she was positively astounded. "So, why you came?"

"Does the reason matter? I should ask why you invited me over," he answered.

"Does the reason matter?" When Law only ogled, her eyes fell to the table and she chuckled. "I just felt seeing you again. You know, talking."

"Like now?"

She straightened a bit, still smiling before looking into his face. "Trafalgar," said she, but corrected to, "Law. I can call you like that, right?" Despite no answer, he also didn't show any signs of being bothered by it. "I don't want you to think I'm still trying to have something with you."

"That's a very wrong start then," he noted, eyes wandering briefly around.

"You're not a keeper. I was afraid you wouldn't come over to have a talk if it was more private. But then I figured too late that you're also not the type for parties." Stella snickered. "Well, to my fortune, you did come."

He raised a brow. "And let me guess; you thought I wouldn't meet you in private to avoid getting intimate again."

Stella was a confident woman, she knew exactly what she wanted and showed it through her fearless behavior; everything but shy. Even her timid little giggle before was more of a flirtation. "Yeah. I don't mind casual sex with a guy of your caliber, but that was not what I was aiming for."

Else, she seemed honest and Law's ear was all open. "So, then keep it short."

* * *

Quinn couldn't help it but crept around alone in the mass of students, peaking at Law and Stella from the distance while sipping from her cup to portray casualness. She didn't even wanted to gawk so much, but her eyes were drawn to them, uncontrollably one might think. Maybe she could lie to herself about her attendance there, but more than subconsciously, checking out Stella was a big reason to be at that party; and it felt queasier than she had thought.

When she peaked and saw him speaking, her curiosity about whatever they were talking about rose and she couldn't stop herself imagining how their word exchange looked like. According to film and television, it would be a perfect night for a hookup. Or the beginning of a new romance? Whenever she caught herself refusing to those ideas, she repeated in her mind how he should do whatever he sought and that she hoped he would have a good night. _Yes, Dr. Casanova, you deserve some fun! Good luck!_

"Hey."

Quinn's eyes moved up to a guy in front of her, who approached her with a smile. Forced to look away from her previous focal point, she smiled back at him. "Hi."

The guy extended his hand for a shake, introducing himself. She took it, though wonkily, and did the same.

"Never seen your face here," said he and Quinn tried to laugh a little, ignoring that smirk Law was giving Stella. Oh no, she tried not to bat an eye.

"I'm actually one of Stella's."

"Acker?" asked he and she stared perplexed, unsure about the information. "The one in law school?"

Hearing the word 'Law', she snorted almost under her breath about that irony and the guy gave her an uncertain smile to what she reacted awkwardly. "Uhm, yeah, I think?" The best to identify Stella then, was to simply point at her, but it seemed wrong and stalkerish, thus she described her briefly. "Brunette, petite and gorgeous?"

The guy laughed at her description. "Yes, that must be Stella Acker."

* * *

"So you basically invited me over only to hear an apology from me?"

Stella shrugged a little with a sly smile. "You can put it that way."

"For a one night stand that was clearly declared a one night stand before it even happened?"

"Of course; you could've at least be a little friendly instead of disappearing traceless," said she. "Just an apology."

Even though his interlocutor was in front of him, Law's eyes wandered off the place into the mass and he listened to her maybe negligibly. That Quinn was talking to some stranger was more interesting.

"Also, I don't expect men to flirt like that for a hookup."

"Well, Stella," he embarked with a calm demeanor, still regarding Quinn for a moment. "I don't know in what kinda way other men flirt with you, but I like to make sure to get the sex I want for the night."

As she was muted, he turned his full attention back to her and grabbed his cup with a carefree smirk. "I'm sorry to have hurt your feelings, but I'm not apologizing for my actions." Before walking off, his smirk bemused her and he lifted his cup swiftly for a goodbye. "See you."

* * *

In spite of the guy's obtrusion, Quinn managed him to leave. "Really, no thanks," she told with both hands waving frontal to her chest, "I think I'll get back to my friends."

Disappointed but staying friendly, he accepted the rejection and left her alone. She sighed in relief and mild exhaustion. Not only was her mind loaded with other concerns, she also had no desire flirting with anyone there. They all seemed nice but didn't interest Quinn in any kind. As she turned around to go, she almost bumped into Law who stood right behind her. "Woah!"

"Enjoy the party?" asked he as she backed off.

"Y-yeah, kinda," Quinn said.

"Kinda?" He raised a brow, eyes staring unimpressed. "You begging me to go and now you just kinda enjoy it?"

"Well, do you enjoy it?"

"What do you think?"

Quinn looked to the side, pressing an almost straight smile from her lips with shoulders twitching up. Then she looked back at him. "Kinda?"

Surprised by that assumption, he tilted his head a little. "How is that?"

"Well..." She sipped on her drink, leaning against the wall with one hand behind her back. "You don't seem grumpy like usual and you seemed amused talking to Stella."

His brow arched again. "Was it interesting?"

"Huh?"

"To watch us."

Quinn tried not to show too much emotion, constraining the embarrassed irritation. "I just happened to see it."

His lips creased to a smile; not too brash, but existent enough to easily identify delight. "Is that a problem?"

"I was just answering your question."

They shared silent and crisp eye-contact after she had said it composed but also somewhat sassy. Not long and Law walked away to the beverages, got her rushing behind him.

"They have grilled fish over there by the way, thought you'd like some," she told, watching him from the side as he rummaged through the selection.

"I'm not hungry, but thanks."

"Oh, and they have cake!" she added with joy in her voice, "I've seen chocolate cake, marble cake, and some other types."

"Be careful what you eat," he replied nonchalantly, opening a beer bottle and refilling his cup. "In your case, it's never good to eat random stranger's food without checking the ingredients first."

"Don't worry!"

Law turned around and leaned against the counter, taking gulps from his cups. He really seemed more unconcerned today than usual, almost as if everything doesn't matter to him and made his usually thoughtful face relaxed. Maybe a little bored too, Quinn thought.

"Can I ask you something?" she said.

"You already did."

"Something else." He side-glanced her. "Sooo, what were you talking with Stella?" As his face tilted down to her, she raised her open hand in instant defense. "Just casual interest. Asking you because that's how conversation goes," said she and murmured in addition, "since ya making none..."

Law smiled slyly at her. "You're more curious these days."

"Weeeeeell, the longer we stick around each other, the deeper our friendship, and the more I'm interested in what's going on with you." He was still just giving her that laid-back and impish expression, hence she could assume nothing to follow. "So, ya not gonna tell me?"

"Does it look so?"

"No..."

Locked to the conversation, a female voice from the side threw the two off and both stared at two girls who timidly approached Law. "Excuse me? Are you working in the local hospital?" one of them asked while the other one was right behind her.

"Yeah," Law said flatly.

"You're Dr. Trafalgar, right?" When Law and Quinn only stared at them in silence, the girl told right away, "we don't know if you remember, but we were your patients not long ago. Like, her, two months ago and me, at the beginning of this year."

Quinn moved her eyes up to his and he said, "sorry. New patients come in every week, I can't remember all faces."

"Oh, that's no problem at all," the girl said, eyes jolting, "we're just surprised to see you here and wanted to say hello."

The girl behind her made a little wave. "I'm studying medicine too and wanna intern at the local hospital next year!"

Quinn remembered when she had gone to the hospital that one day to pass him Judy's invitation for dinner. At the reception when she had asked the nurse about his whereabouts, she had been told that she couldn't help if it wasn't for professional purposes. Yes, sometimes she forgot that he was a more desired person than their daily time around each other showed. Due to his cold and blunt demeanor, he appeared sort of mysterious to those that interacted with him only shallowly, hence became interesting.

"Can I ask how old you are?" the medical student asked, "you're definitely younger than 30."

Quinn was never the judgemental type and she god damn hated herself for the moment she ranked the girl as average. Aghast, she mumbled, "sin has found me."

Law tilted his head at her when he heard that dismay. "You okay?"

Still with appall written on her face, she glanced at him and then at their two bystanders. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm sorry." Causing an awkward silence, she started to laugh and patted Law's arm. "Don't you wanna answer her questions already?"

Swaying his gaze from her to them, the two rebounded to smiling. "I'd like to not get too personal to my patients, so if you don't mind." A modest head move requested them to leave.

"Of course, we're sorry," they said, not happy, but showed kind understanding. "Have a nice evening!"

As they walked away, Quinn returned the 'nice evening' wish to them since Law hadn't. He was unaffected by that approach and uninterested as expected, taking quiet gulps from his drink instead.

When looking back at Quinn, a wide smile surprised. "What's that stupid face?"

"You remembered me right away AND became pretty personal with me."

"That's because, first, it doesn't happen a lot that someone vomits on me and making such a fuss; and second, weren't you the one getting personal with _me?"_

She couldn't cease her visage and leaned against the counter next to him, looking into the inner of her empty cup. "First, touché; second, this is still a two-sided story."

With one hand in his trouser pocket, he still showed no concern about her argument. "One force was stronger than the other."

And neither did she. "You were the one showing up in our apartment not only once but a 100 of times."

"You could've just ignored me."

"Manners."

"No one forces you to host your flatmate's sex partners. Nothing to do with manners."

Quinn moved her face up to him as he was still staring to the front. "Are you complaining that I've acted kind towards you?"

Both his brows rose, different to his eyelids. "No, I'm just saying that you wanted to get personal with me."

And she raised one of her brows. "Could've just declined."

His mood betrayed him with a chuckle before he gazed down at her. "How could I ignore the hospitality of a pretty woman?"

"By sticking to your 'doctor rules'?" she answered as if it was obvious.

He slanted his face a little to her, amusement visibly. "Hey, I'm just human too."

"That's no excuse."

Cup empty, Law put it down and stuffed his other hand in his pocket as well, moving outside. "I need some fresh air."

"Huuuuh?" She stared after him, but then also left her empty plastic cup behind to follow him. "Did I win this argument? I did, I totally did!"

* * *

Judy thought twice if showing up at the party was a good idea, but eventually took a cab and ended up going. Looking around to find someone she knew, it didn't hide her uncertainty about being there. It seemed to be the best to stay away from Law for a while and especially avoiding going to places he only went to because of Quinn. Back in the days, those were the nights she would come back home with some pretty dude. Not even a year ago since that had been normal to her, and now she felt like an old lady that preferred to sleep all day.

Not long and she was quickly approached by familiarity. "You must be Judy."

"Yes," Judy said, shaking hands, "and you are?"

"Stella, I was the waitress."

Recalling her, she gave her moderate smiles with mouth and eyes. Right then, she wasn't really fond of the new female company, but she also had no reasons to despise her. "Right, I'm sorry, I'm not that good with faces," she said, "apparently different to you."

"Good memory," Stella noted with the same smile.

For Judy, there was actually nothing to say to her, thus she left it by weak small talk. "That is impressive."

"Born with it, so nothing I actually received with effort," Stella said, but stopped the small talk when she noticed it lead to nothing. "Your friends are kinda spread over the place. I just saw Law and Quinn went outside."

"Together?" She shouldn't be surprised, but Judy was still. Partly also about the fact that it did surprise her.

"Yeah." The not very pleasant reaction was exposed on Judy's face, noticed by Stella with no strain. "Hey, wanna have some drinks?"

* * *

The backyard wasn't small and had plenty of space with fewer to no people. Quinn and Law slowly passed the gathering at the grill, not minding their chatter and the loud music in the back.

"I have another question! Do people recognize you often outside of work? I mean, you're infamous for ya image!"

"I don't think it's rare that people know who I am when they see me, but it's usually not a big deal. I've a few cases of surgery patients thanking, but something like before rather sparsely. They go on with their lives, I with mine."

"And girls apparently love you," Quinn mentioned, earning his flat staring inquiry for her statement. "What? You've told the nurses not to give information about you when some random girls ask."

"Right, unprofessional purposes."

She pressed herself against his side with a wide grin looking at him. "I am speciaaaal."

Then she backed off, walking ahead with slow big steps. "I mean, only in a positive sense of course! Don't you think it's funny when adults use the term to downplay or comfort?" With a swing, she turned around to him again when he remained uncommunicative. "I wanna thank you."

Law kept walking quietly and relaxed, thus she waddled backward across from him.

"Thanking for bringing us here. I like the party. The atmosphere and people are different from the casino one."

"Glad you like it," he said, tone facile.

"I haven't been to many parties, it's actually my third in my life. Or? Hm... yeah, there was another when I was in art school, but I never went there. Then another from my other college! It was okay, but I was too shy to make friends. How do you actively make friends? How did we become friends? Anyway! I'd be nervous about attending today, but with you, I'm somehow not."

Law stopped and looked at her. "Are you flirting with me?"

"What?" She blushed a little to his deadpan. "No, I mean _'you'_ as in everyone we came with."

Then he continued to walk and so did Quinn with a full turn back ahead. Around the corner, seeing a swimming pool with no one around, she was quickly cooled down from her pink face. Both halted at the pool edge, looking at the calm water. Though no one was around, little lights on one side in the lawn were on to capture it clearly; the picture of few leaves and a plastic cups floating inside.

"How about a crash course in swimming?" Quinn joked.

"Don't be silly," said Law.

She crouched down and stick a finger into the cold water. "How come you can't swim though? Did they never teach you in school?"

"Correct, they didn't."

"I see." Quinn got up again and walked to the bush not far from them, looking for a branch on the ground. "You're not from here too, right? Can I ask where you've lived before?"

"It's far from here."

She found a branch and picked it up to walk back to where she crouched before. "How far? My birthplace's I think four hours train ride away." On her knees she leaned forward with her arm stretched out, trying to reach the plastic cup in the pool with the branch.

"I don't know," Law mumbled a little. His voice became notably quieter and she leaned back when she could pick the cup, staring up at him then. "Maybe a day."

"That's pretty far..." Not just his voice, but also his expression had changed. Even it didn't look much different to how careless he looked before, something was going on with his face. Something sorrowful. "Do you miss that place?" He didn't respond to that question and Quinn felt instantaneously bad. "I'm sorry."

By then it became normal to remind herself that Law wasn't open to his past. It was probably something he had struggled to leave behind, ergo make him memorizing it all the time felt to be the 'wrongest' she could do around him. In their hushed surrounding, she got up without a word, cup in one hand, branch in the other.

But as soon as she was up, her left foot prickled and she realized it had turned slightly numb from the crouching. Quinn lost her balance, tried to regain it, but ended up falling into the pool with a splash.

Happened with no chance of help, Law calmly made a step back to avoid the water splitting on him.

She emerged with a loud inhalation, completely wet from head to toe, and the branch and cup also found their way floating in the pool water.

Law got closer again and crouched down, highly amused of the occurrence. "Well done, Peanut."

She stroked her hair back from her face, wiping her eyes still in jolt before grabbing the floating cup next to her to hold it up. "Great, struggled to fish this out for nothing."

"Be less clumsy next time," he said in mock and she tried not to laugh, hurling the cup at him.

With slow steps in the water, she walked up to him and Law said, "you should get out quickly or you might catch a cold."

"Woah, you don't say, Captain Obvious," Quinn snapped.

She arrived at the edge of the pool with both hands while he still looked amused. "You look good. Wet."

Her face turned red and she narrowed her brows at him. "Did you hear yourself?"

"Don't worry, my ears work flawlessly."

"Apparently not your civility!"

"'Are you complaining that I've talked kind towards you?'"

The mockery in his voice left her speechless for a moment and she wanted to counter, but couldn't.

Instead, Quinn grabbed his wrists.

"Oi."

And pulled him in a jerk down.

"Peanut!"

SPLASH.

"Oops," said she. When he stood up in the water again, stroking with both hands the hair from his face, Quinn faced him with a broad smile. "That, Sir, was well deserved."

He exhaled. "I should've known better." She gave a big cheeky blow kiss and laughed, squirting water into his face to which he flinched with squinted eyes. "Urgh!"

"1-0 for Quinn Heady!" she said out loud with her back facing him, both hands raised in the air.

"We should get out," he said, partly tired of the situation.

Nothing new though, he always sounded like that and couldn't be taken seriously by her anymore. Quinn simply had already learned to distinguish his real annoyance from his badittude.

"But I don't want to." The water was everywhere on her, so she lifted each foot to take off her shoes and held them up, away from the water.

"Let's go, Peanut," he said and moved towards pool edge. "Thanks for having ruined my shoes," he mumbled and took them off as well, placing them on the stone right next to where he intended to get out, along with his pager and phone (which were waterproof).

"I'm staaaying, gimme a moment."

"You'll definitely catch a cold."

"We'll see."

Have fallen into the water turned out more relaxing after all. Though people were partying around the corner and the open sky not hushing the background noises, they suddenly felt comfortable in her ears when she compared it to background music. She should feel cold by every little breeze grazing her skin, but catching the dark sky with her eyes had distracted her and detached her from her body.

"Huh?"

Law stepped in front of her, bringing her thoughts back to the ground. He caught her off-guard when he wrapped his arms around her legs and lifted her, throwing her body over his shoulder.

"What are you-?! Hey, lemme down!"

"If you're not getting out yourself, I have to help out," he said and moved back to his stuff while she was hanging from him, laughing and lightly hitting his back with her shoes, telling him to let go.

* * *

Rumbling through the party, bellies stuffed, Shachi and Penguin only thought of finding a quiet corner to relax. They stumbled upon Judy and Stella and didn't shy from bumping into their conversation. And whatever the two women were talking about, they didn't bother to share their secret, so it turned into small talk.

"Hey, by the way," Shachi said, looking around, "where's Quinn and Law?"

"Last seen they went outside," Stella told.

Two guys passed behind her, obviously drunk when hearing them talking and laughing. "Hey, Acker! Who are those guys?"

Rolling her eyes as one put his hand on her shoulder, she asked, "what do you want?"

"Marry me! Muah!"

The bunch laughed at their own joke and Stella shook her head in front of her three new companions before telling the guys to get lost.

Left them alone, Penguin hesitated a little but eventually aimed a question at. "Uh... Acker?"

"My last name," she said, casually and not wondering what his surprise was about.

"You don't happen to be related to a Laura Acker?"

"That's my sister." The bunch moved all eyes on him, Stella twitching a brow. "And you know her because?"

His jaw dropped for a moment and he kind of laughed, also trying to pull himself together. "I-, wow, this is awkward, but I was with your sister years ago."

"Oh! The one with the distance, and then it didn't work and so on?"

"Y-yeah!" Embarrassed, he scratched his head. "What a coincidence... Do... do you know how she's doing nowadays?"

"She's fine," said she and her eyes darting for a second aside before looking at him again. "Married actually."

What had been excitement and joy before on Penguin's face, was now a calm disappointment. His mouth formed a small silent "oh," and he remained quiet to let that information sink.

Besides Stella noticing the drop and feeling kind of bad, also Judy took notice and saw from both faces that this was turning into a more private talk. She touched Shachi's arm and told the other two, "we'll go and look for the others."

They nodded.

"Oh man, have you seen his face?" Shachi said, walking away next to Judy.

"That had hit him," said she.

"I thought he's over her, this lies back several years."

She shrugged, one corner of her lips pulled up. "First love."

Saying no more, Judy headed somewhere not even close to the backyard.

Confused, Shachi turned to go after her. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Looking for the bathroom."

"Thought you wanna look for Law and Quinn?"

"Not really," she said, her focus on her way ahead, "they'll eventually come back anyway."

The women's bathroom door fell closed in front Shachi's face after Judy disappeared behind it.

"O-okay..."

* * *

Quinn's laugh was a mixture of amusement and exasperation when Law was carrying her away from the pool, somewhere farther, behind the building. It seemed to take him no strength to transport her like a sack of spuds while she occasionally fidgeted with her body when she thought it was enough.

"Okay, okay, I'm out now! Wanna lemme down already?" When he didn't answer, she crossed her arms. "This is slowly getting uncomfy."

"Can't be more uncomfortable than you hitting my back nonstop."

"What does that mean? Pain's pain." Quinn puffed her cheeks and let her body hanging tenseless from his shoulder again with a big sigh. She stopped to play dead when she beheld what's in front of her eyes, desire for revenge forming in her head. She could so smack his butt now. The most unexpected of unexpected; and his reaction would be worth a mint.

Law stopped and her body raised a little, staring somewhere more appropriate.

"Terminus?" asked she, but instead of letting her down, he didn't move. "What is?"

"I'm thinking of putting you down smoothly, or just throwing you on the ground."

"Really?" The shoes he carried with his two fingers fell to the ground and Quinn looked at hers on each hand and then at his back. They might have been drowned in water, but nonetheless were the soles of her shoes stained by little dirt. "Hm, can I warn you beforehand that your back looks not so nicely?" To be honest, he was wearing a dark wet shirt and by that night sky, she could actually see nothing but only assumed.

"So that means throwing?" said he calmly, almost as if he was ready to ditch her on the lawn.

"No! That means I own up to it! That should be noted and honored!"

"That makes no sense. I'd see and know it's you anyway."

"Fiiine, throw me." Quinn dropped her shoes and moved her torso up, pushing a little against his shoulder and exhaled again. "Urgh, my belly."

Law moved her a little as he enclosed her thighs with his arms so that she ended up being frontally carried by him. She returned looking at his face when he stared from beneath up. Quinn smiled, a cheeky grin underneath.

"Hi, Handsome," said she, casually.

Amused, his mouth corners turned up slyly. "Hi, Annoying."

"Wow!" Meek mock excitement spread over her face. "From all things you could choose, you went with the nicest; thank you!"

"Only what you deserve."

"I feel slightly cold now."

"I wonder why."

"Cold towards you calling me annoying."

"Great," said he, putting one arm around her hip first before the other to lower her a little, "because I won't stop."

With her arms on his shoulders, Quinn took a look to the ground, seeing it wasn't much anymore for her feet to stand on their own again. Her legs fidgeted a bit and she looked back at his face that wasn't far beneath anymore either. "You can let me down now."

Law was staring at her, the sly smile from before returning to its stoic original form. "Don't tell me what to do."

"Am I not too heavy?"

"55kg?"

"Why do you still remember this?!" Keep smiling, she put her hands around his head and moved them slowly towards his cheeks, just to pinch them abruptly. "Let go."

His lids lowered on his eyes. "You think that makes me doing what you want?"

With her palms she pushed his cheeks together, causing his lips to purse on their own. She giggled and played with his cheeks so that his lips would alternately purse and not while imitating Law's vocal the way she imagined fishes to talk. "Hello, my name is Dr. Fish, and I can't let go of Quinn, because I'm stupid."

He seemed pretty unamused by it, goggling her with his flat expression as he let her silly side take over the situation.

Quinn enjoyed it.

She always had considered Law somewhat extraordinary with humor as dark as black licorice. Yes, he was like black licorice. Either you loved it or you hated it, there was no in between. A person from the outside would tell by his face that he felt being misplaced, but she knew it wasn't like that at all. She knew he felt comfortable enough with her to let her stick around him all night. It never escaped his mouth, but it didn't need to for her to feel it.

She could execute the silliest thing then and all he would do was muttering in his pseudo-annoyance before he would give her one of his evil smirks again. Another quirky expression of amusement she had learned to adore no matter how creepy. Because it meant he felt good about something.

Quinn stopped playing with his cheeks and quietly looked at his face that hadn't changed a bit from its previous expression. It was still the unfazed glare with that two pair of grey eyes she could even identify within the weak light. Pretty, but cold eyes. His gaze was and had always been cold-looking, dangerous even. There was something with eyes like his that intimidated one only by being pierced by it. That light, steel tone exuded no warmth.

And yet she could feel it.

Not one bit hesitation occurred when Quinn closed her eyes and kissed Law's lips. His face was right there, not a meter away, and if she was thinking at that moment or had let herself being carried away was even unsure to her.

A moment of shock showed on both faces when she pulled away immediately. Both faces petrified.

"I'm sorry..." Her face turned red in utter embarrassment. "I...I don't know what went through my mind. Please; ignore what happened."

He was speechless; and her chest contracted, brows curling their way to frustration. Slowly he let her down until she stood on the ground again while she didn't know to look away or keep her eyes locked with his stunned look.

Carefully, she made a step back, face still as red as a tomato, unsure how to translate his reaction. "I was just-, in the moment-, I can explain-, I-I think there was some alcohol in m-"

Nowhere could she recall the gentleness of someone's lips pressing against hers so sudden. Law had cupped her cheek with one hand and placed the other to her hip, closing the distance she had made between them. She returned the kiss with no reluctance, her heart pounded yet was so calmed by the touch of his lips. Just like that night on the rooftop, she had wanted this to happen and once it did, she forgot everything bad she knew about him. There was no Law the womanizer; Law the heartbreaker; the cold and scary; the rude and arrogant. There was just Law; the one she knew; her Law.

What once surrounded them, lapsed in the moment and made the kiss so engraving that she knew this would become a never comparable and forgettable moment in her life.

They parted only slowly, their foreheads not far from each to almost rest against one another. Quietly, they let go of their breaths they had been holding in allure.

Quinn felt the heartbeat in her chest and whispered, "was that meaningless too?"

Everything happened so quickly, she was still digesting it in her mind. What could she consider this? Kiss with the most impervious man in history? Kiss with a man she wasn't in a relationship with? The kiss that tasted like cotton candy?

When something held back his answer, her lips pressed together and she swallowed before she dared to open her eyes, stepping apart.

Law looked at her.

And right then he preferred to look away, but couldn't.

When he was still giving no response her eyes were first to move down. "I... I think we should leave it here..."

"Peanut."

"D-don't take it personally!" she added, darting big eyes at him again. "I mean, technically, it is kinda personal. But I mean, it's not because of you doing anything wrong! It's more like-, it's complicated. I-, well, we-" She grabbed her head and turned around. "Oh god, I dunno what I'm saying anymore!"

Law sighed — for her barely hearable — and stared to his right. "It's alright," said he with quiet and low voice.

"Wait. How meaningless was it...?" He looked back at her as she kneaded her own hands. "I don't wanna be a hookup or something like that."

She was anything but that.

"Hey, Law? Quinn?" Shachi surprised them coming around the corner. "What are you doing here in the dark?"

"Chatting," Law answered dryly.

Stepping closer, the redhead noticed that the two looked terribly wet from head to shoeless toes. "Wait, why are you? Did you jump into the pool?!"

Quinn smiled sheepishly.

"Oh boy, you two are crazy. Ah, by the way, Judy's here. A while already."

"Uh, I'll go then," Quinn said, grabbed her shoes and rushed from the spot, obviously to escape. "Bye bye!"

"Geez, what have you done in the pool?" Shachi said. He saw Law still in silence, his face carried pensively away. "Did I disturb...?"

Law knew he was a confident man and never shied away from conflicts, but when it came to sentimental issues, regarding his own irrationality, he always found himself hampered. It was a big chunk of insecurity he hadn't felt for a long period. So long it made him a stranger to himself.

"No. Good timing," said he and shoved a hand into his pocket while picking up his shoes with the other. Shachi then followed him inside, saying no word.

What had fallen away not ten minutes ago; the loud music; the smell of grilled food; the loud conversations; returned with all his senses, and the artificial light of the communal lounge dazzled him again.

Stella sighted him from afar when he got back with Shachi. "What the-, did you really fell into the pool?"

She walked up to them and Law answered her simply, "apparently."

"I'll get you a towel," she gasped, "wait here."

Though he had felt uncomfortable with Quinn outside, avoiding to talk, she was already the first thing his eyes subtly scanned for. Partly to see how she was doing, partly to avoid her, partly because of his emotional reflex. He didn't know what was stupider, his feelings for her, or how he was acting. Probably a mixture of both.

* * *

"I get along with her nicely."

"Tell me." Quinn sighed while she was standing at the sink in the bathroom, wringing out her shirt. "She doesn't like me, right?"

Judy, who was standing with folded arms next to her while leaning with her butt against another sink, bit the inside of her cheeks and made a round with her big eyes. "Well... you... ask too many questions. She finds it annoying."

Drying her body with a few tissues, she smiled wryly at herself in the mirror, mumbling, "I knew this will happen sooner or later."

"Hey, you're used to it, or not?"

"Haha, very funny."

"Just kidding." Judy snickered. "Nevermind her, you don't have to be friends with everyone."

Pursing her lips with puffed cheeks, she exhaled through her nostrils but said nothing. She then put on Judy's cardigan, folded the wet shirt and started to brush her knotted hair.

"You alright?" asked Judy.

"I suppose."

"Sure?" Straightening then when Quinn didn't seem to want to talk, she pointed with her head towards the door. "If you don't mind, I'm heading outside."

"Yooo."

Quinn stopped fiddling on her hair to halt Judy just before she pulled the handle. "Wait!"

They looked at each other.

"1 to 10, how much do you like Law?"

Judy's slightly irritated eyes wandered briefly around. "What's with that question?"

"Please, just answer me. 1 to 10."

Her brows narrowed a bit and she shook her head, walking outside then.

Quinn was left in silence. But inside her, there was an uproar. _Oh_ _maaan_ , _Quiiiiiiinn._ With her hands gripping the edge of the sink, she sagged into a squat and hung her head. _Stupid Quinn. Stupid Quinn. Stupid Quinn._

* * *

When Judy walked down the corridor, back into the noisy center of the party, she stopped instantly the moment she sighted Law from the side. "Really?" said she as she saw him just as wet as her friend. "You too?"

"Where's Quinn?" Shachi asked as she walked up to them. "She was looking for you."

"Restroom." Judy gawked at Law with half-lidded eyes, just like a tired mother that couldn't believe another problem-child to be around.

Her thoughts appeared obvious, thus he explained as if it was nothing. "Your clumsy friend fell into the pool and had the urgent to pull me along."

Judy tilted her face a little away from him, arching a brow. "You didn't do anything naughty to her, did you?"

Scandalized, Shachi told her, "Law wouldn't do anything to Quinn...!"

His comment never reached them though and Law asked Judy back, "and what if?"

"Well. I dare you to touch her the wrong way," she answered as small threat.

His view swiped aside and his mouth corners curled up, half ridiculing. "You know, there's no wrong way with me," said he with discreet mockery before he walked off the spot and left the woman tongue-tied.

Shachi turned his head to her, careful in approach when he saw her frozen and unamused cold face still pointed to where Law disappeared. "Judy...?"

"I need alcohol."

* * *

Law didn't expect more to happen that night and was then only waiting for the others to be ready to leave. Nothing could overshadow what happened before, and he stayed with the towel around his neck on the couch, finishing a hot coffee next to a heater where his socks and shoes were drying. Stella could borrow slippers for him so that he didn't have to stay barefoot for the rest of the time.

Penguin bumped his butt onto the couch as well, right next to him. "I had a good time today."

"I plan to leave soon," Law said.

"Soon as in when?"

His eyes grazed the clock on the wall before it moved back. "Half an hour."

Penguin regarded his face thoroughly when Law didn't attempt to make more conversation. It was chilled as usual, but also in thoughts. "Hey."

Law looked at him.

"I know you don't like talking," said Penguin, "but you know, you always have mine and Shachi's back."

A little smirk grew on his laid-back face, and Law closed his eyes. Silent appreciation.

The serenity was cut by a turmoil of few people gathering after a little dash next to the snack table whilst more and more were attracted to the scene within seconds. Questions like 'what happened?'; 'should we call the ambulance?'; 'who is this?'; 'can someone get a glass of water?' brew up, catching Law's interest as well. As a doctor, he felt obligated to check on the matter anyway, and also the rest of the troop that came with him found themselves drawn to the collect.

And Law would remember exactly what he felt that moment when he went between the squashed shoulders to have a look on the situation. It felt like a punch in the chest.

Quinn lied on the ground with mortified eyes, wheezing through her blue running lips. Next to her kneeled a few strangers, trying to figure what to do.

No delay between his realization and himself crouching down to her, checking her condition. "What happened?!"

"I don't know, she suddenly fell," one of the bystanders told.

Terrified, Judy kneeled on the other side and Shachi and Penguin, just as Stella, stood right behind. "Law, what's with her?!"

Law tried to sit her up, her back leaning against his angled leg and he touched her face and aimed it towards his. "Quinn!" He tried to gain her attention, checking how much she could still perceive while gasping for air. "Can you hear me?" But her eyes were rigid, and her face started to swell rapidly. She squeezed Law's hand, not a cough but crimped cheeping coming from her throat.

"Stella, call the ambulance," said he and she nodded, dialing as fast as she could. His head turned around and not far from them he found a plastic fork and paper plate, dropped on the floor with a piece of cake. "What's in the cake?" he demanded to know, roughly.

"It's chocolate cake," someone told.

Judy's brows turned to horror. "With peanuts?"

"I think it's made with peanut flavor or something?"

"Anyone here with severe allergies? We need an epinephrine injection, immediately." Law tried to stay calm as much as he could. Right then, he honestly could cuss the shit out of himself while his heart throbbed painfully in his crib.

He pushed her mouth open and scooped the unchewed cake pieces out. At the same time, only mumbles of 'no' and silence to his question sneaked into his ears while her whole face had swollen drastically. Law knew, this was a fight with a strict deadline and it felt like a paradox of things going too quickly to treat and the horrific feeling of things dreadfully dragging.

Someone repeated his questions out loud to the crowd. Finally, someone. "I have an autoinjector in my room!"

"Get it," Law said right off and the person made no turn and hurried.

"15 minutes, okay, got it!" he heard Stella on the phone and his eyes widened.

"What?!" shot reflexively from his mouth and he snatched her phone. "We have a severe anaphylaxis; patient has a heart valve defect; I need an ambulance NOW."

Judy startled the surrounders when she shrieked up in pain as Quinn squeezed her hand. "Law!" she yelled, eyes getting watery. "Do something!"

"Shut up!" he growled and could only wait until the person would get back with the autoinjector. Allergic reactions, which required hospital treatment, happened occasionally, but that one right there was the worst he had seen in a while, and he felt helpless for not able to do anything in that situation.

"Quinn," said he with calm voice. "Can you hear me?"

"It hurts," she managed to whimper through the bloated lips. "I can't breathe. My chest hurts."

Judy wrapped her hand in utter shock, trying to smile at her. "Ambulance's coming, globefish."

When Law checked the time, not even five minutes had passed, but it felt like the paramedics took hours. He clenched his jaw and fist, trying to breathe slow and steady while Quinn's body still leaned against him. His hands were just as sweaty as hers and she had been holding it tightly the whole slow time.

How could that have happened? Hadn't he told her to be careful? From one moment to the other, everything stood upside down to him, just as always with her, and when he thought he could see the positive for that night, she had to turn it to horror.

He exhaled, uneasily, and caress her slackened hand with his thumb. Then he looked at her. "Quinn."

Twice.

"Quinn?"

His eyes stressed when she didn't answer and he pulled his leg back, laying her down flatly. The mob went silence when Law leaned his ear to her face and checked her pulse on her wrist.

"Law...?" Judy stared at him horrified, and her expression became worse when he didn't answer. "Law!"

Fuck.

His head backed off, his eyes thunderstruck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

"Law!" Shachi shouted too. But his voice, it had lost volume.

Everything around Law suddenly blurred, from audio to visual.

Quinn's heart had stopped to beat.

Thirteen years; it laid thirteen years back since something had struck his mind so hard that it physically hurt his entire being. Incapacity, guilt, regret, grief, those were all emotions he could recall for a long period, and which had hunted him through all his senses over and over again, day and night. Terrible dreams; dreams that robbed his purpose of life; dreams that restrained him from fighting; that made him hate.

And then were they gone.

His mind had allowed him to close that chapter. He had learned to cope with his feelings, to balance his emotions. He had hoped to never have to deal with something like that again. To stay away from that sort of pain. Worst than a gunshot.

And then, they returned.

When he thought of Quinn, the first picture that came to his mind was her with that wide cheeky smile. And then that annoying babble, so vivid that only the thought of it made it so present. He could hear her saying 'Doctor' and 'Law' in various tones and paces, one worse than the other. And he knew he wanted to hear it again. And again. And again.

And again.

"Law!" someone shouted one more and his face snapped out of the perplexity. Judy had his arms in her grip, staring at him with desperation. "Wake up!"

"CPR," he said calmly and she removed her hands, only staring helplessly at him. Law couldn't allow himself to panic; once more he was forced to do something. It was like running all over again, and he knew he could have the situation under control. "I need someone that can give first aid."

Out of the crowd, someone stepped forward with a hand rose. "I can!" the person said and he identified her as the medical student earlier on.

Law nodded at her and she started chest compression whereas he performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The crowd was watching in hope and anticipation including the person Law had sent away for the adrenaline shot.

Quinn dying there would be the thing he could never forgive himself. It was the last thing he wanted, and he had promised her it was not going to happen when he was around.

 _Come on, Quinn; come on, Quinn; COME ON!_

* * *

 _ **A/N:** dun dun dun_

 _ **Kira Kirya** \- Thank you so much, I can't believe that people enjoy this story that much! Your _ english _is completely fine!_

 _ **Jag** \- emotions make people stupid ;(_

 **beabaudelaire** _\- Hehehe, give them time 3_

 _ **Velonica14** \- Sorry, but not feeling bad about this ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Just kidding, I'm glad you enjoy it even around that time haha and thanks for reviewing etc., means a lot to me!_

 _ **Jisca** \- I'd be happy if you do, thank you!_


	54. Doctor Trafalgar

_**A/N:**_ _Yes, it's still alive and yes, I'm very sorry for the cliffhanger in the last chapter. Never intended to stop there with such a gap between the next update, but well, real-life happened. Forgive me with three new chapters._

* * *

 **54\. Doctor Trafalgar**

Shirley Heady; Quinn hadn't seen her for almost 20 years. It had been long enough to almost forget how the woman had looked like. They had the same nose, Quinn was sure of that because she had heard it very often; and they had the same light waves in their hair, but hers weren't blonde but a light brunette; and her eyes, what had they looked like again? Also blue? Quinn couldn't remember.

Almost every part about her left her memory; it were empty facts that couldn't puzzle a picture together in her head. Not even a voice; she was sure her memory had deleted every information about her mother piece by piece the more they had distanced from each other.

But deep, deep in her subconscious the memory was still alive. Much more than she thought, she could only tell when she heard a kind voice calling her name, wrapping her body with a warmth only a mother could give. It was wonderful... yet so grievous.

Quinn knew she was dying.

All the voices that surrounded her, she could see no one but heard every single. She had caused a riot, and she thought she was the last one able to end it. Regret for eating that cake; regret for not caring about her health; Quinn felt bad for leaving like that. For upsetting her friends, because she couldn't take care of herself.

She always did that, worrying others. Sometimes she thought it was what she was best at, and every time she told herself she would make it better, but somehow never grasped the chance. They shouldn't aggrieve when she would be gone; they should look at her and tell her they had told her; then they should move on.

Being the center of attention... she was tired of it. Why did it feel like hours for her to leave? Why could she still hear those voices around her fighting for her life? If she would vanish now, she wouldn't have to bear what she was leaving behind. Life wouldn't remind her how it hurt to abandon what she was having.

Quinn wondered if her mother had thought the same before she passed away. If she had been sitting in that underground station, hearing her babble and regretted the life she had given her. Did she want to wake up? Or had she been afraid of others eyes too and chose to let go?

She was there, Quinn felt it, and she could ask if the others would just let her go.

Law, give up!

And just when Quinn had regained the reminiscences of her mother, she lost everything in no time.

Darkness.

* * *

An infant's cry was equated with the annoying alarm you didn't want to hear in the morning but knew it was bad if you didn't. The cry Quinn was exposed to, became louder and louder the longer she faced the white high ceiling. Slowly, she moved the muscles in her fingers until her left arm jerked from the mattress, but stopped when she felt an uncomfortable resistor in her armlet. She laid her arm back and tilted her head down to see a cannula stuck to her vein and attached with a tube to a water bag. Her hazy sight was clearing and her senses returned so that she felt the respiratory mask taking over half of her face.

"You're finally awake," a nurse said as she passed her.

The cry was gone and only the beeping sound next to her filled the room. Quinn felt like gravity had increased while she was gone, her body like a bomb anytime ready to explode in its heat. Her torso was lying upright on a mattress, not the softest, and she moved her chin to her chest to have a grasp of her current surroundings.

She was stationed in the hospital.

It was a rather small room, packed with strange techniques she couldn't really tell about. The wide door stood open and the nurse came back with a silver trolly. "How are you today, Miss Heady?"

Quinn couldn't answer and watched as the nurse checked her temperature with a small flashing device through her ear. "Still fever. But it's definitely down to 40°C." She changed the empty water bag on the infusion stand while Quinn battled her eyes to stay open. "I gave you a new infusion that should numb the pain. The doctor will check on you soon."

"Trafalgar..." Quinn murmured.

"Dr. Trafalgar? I'm sorry, but he's in the operating theater at the moment. But doctor-"

"Trafalgar," she repeated, her voice hoarse and fretful. "Please..."

The nurse furrowed her brows and told her she would go and see what she could do. As she was gone, Quinn squinted her eyes in pain and an inner brew of confusion upset her. It didn't return to her mind, what had happened before, her thoughts were still spongy - the least. The clock on the wall, hanging across her bed, said four, but neither noon nor morning, and no window was around to tell either.

She took the respiratory mask off and coughed out loud, dozen silver needles puncturing her chest. A moist film had developed on her face where the edges had rested. Not too long and an elderly man entered, introducing himself as a doctor with a name Quinn couldn't care to remember at that moment. She refused to listen to him, sniveled like a child as she demanded Law to come.

The intensive care unit was Quinn's home for two days, that much could she not ignore, but her current condition made it easy for her to blend out anything else the doctor was saying. Everything she wanted was for Law to be there and explain to her what had happened. The medical team gave up quickly and left her alone with concerned faces.

...

"Miss Heady."

The clock said nine now. Night or morning, she still couldn't tell.

Quinn slanted her eyes to the door when she heard her name and saw Law at the door frame, returning the stare.

"Law..." she said with the same hoarse voice.

He grabbed the closest chair in the room and sat down, shifting himself with his legs to her bed. "How are you?"

Quinn was slow with her responses, but it didn't keep her from doing it her way. She raised an arm with a thumbs down and blew through her shut mouth with her tongue sticking out.

A small smile lifted his face and he put one elbow on the bed, supporting his head in his hand. "Heard you were causing a scene 'cause I wasn't around."

She looked away, embarrassed. "I did not cause a scene..."

Law's eyes wandered briefly to the monitor on the other side of the bed, checking her data, before he laid the back of his hand to her warm forehead. "Miss Heady, Miss Heady, problem child number one."

"I was dying," she said, "why didn't you let me die?"

He kept quiet for a moment, waiting for her to look at him again and as she did, inhibited, he said, "if it wasn't for your current state, you'd deserve a snap on your forehead."

"But-"

"Don't be such a drama queen, Peanut."

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, her brows tensed subtly over her watery eyes, "I thought it'd be the quickest solution, just to be dead."

"You were. Clinically; for fifteen minutes."

Her mouth stood slightly open, having no words for his statement.

"I had someone else performing CPR with me on you until the ambulance arrived. We rushed you to the hospital as fast as possible, and fortunately, it was night, so the roads free."

Quinn reached out for his hand, her slender fingers touching his' like a soft cotton ball. She smiled with a faint laugh. "God, you saved me... again."

He returned that smile. "Of course, you know I need my researching objects alive."

She faced the ceiling with another gasping laugh before her eyes closed. "I'm so tired, Doc; can I get back to sleep?"

"It's late anyway, so yes, you can."

Quinn was staying two additional nights in the intensive care unit and was held under strict observation. She slept most of the time anyway and the occupation's goal was to lower her fever before they would transfer her to another patient room. Her fever was a burden even then, but eventually disappeared another two days later and had her feeling almost 100% cured though Law knew she wasn't.

In spite of occasional chest pain and fatigue, she could walk and talk normally and stayed in the hospital with no knowledge of how long her hospitalization was supposed to last. She hadn't even seen Law within those days, the last time was on the day she awoke from the coma, and only nurses came in and out to check on her and changed the bag on the infusion stand.

Now and then, boredom got her and she talked to herself, mentally reconstructing the day her friends would come to visit to be prepared.

Next to her on the bed lied a remoter with pictograms not hard to recognize what it was for. She grabbed it and pressed a button, raising the upper part of her bed until her body was set up almost 90 degrees. Smiling, she pressed another that lowered it again. After stopping midways she tried another couple that moved the lower part up and down smoothly with barely a sound.

"Miss Heady."

Shrinking in a startle, she stopped as the leg part laid flat again and peered with big eyes and a crooked grin at Law who was staring at her in his sanitary clothes and doctor coat.

"You alright?" he asked and she nodded, still carrying the fake smile.

"Hi, yeah, I'm alright!" She put the remoter down like she had never touched it, eyes not leaving him. "Nice to see you again!"

But Law didn't seem to care. "How do you feel?"

"Good, I guess. How come I never see you despite being in the hospital?"

Hands casually in his coat, he walked up to her and sat down on her bed. "Hospital's always busy. But I'm glad you're doing well."

"I see. Well, now let's talk about the party! Finally!"

She watched him with no words and followed his raising hand that surprised her with a little snap on her forehead.

"Ow!" Quinn rubbed the spot and gave him a grumpy face. "What's that for?"

"You know why."

Her brows furrowed to annoyance. "No?"

"Peanut."

"What?"

"Peanut."

"What?"

"Peanut."

"Oh." Realizing what he actually meant by peanut, the annoyance from her face drew back right away and fought not to pull a sheepish smile as she averted her eyes. "I-I asked for the ingredients, and someone told me it was just a chocolate cake! So I thought it's fine. God, I can't even tell if the cake was at least good!" Law's expression didn't change when she glimpsed back at him. "I'm sorry..."

"You had the luck someone with an epinephrine autoinjector was around."

"Epi what?" asked she and earned another little snap from him. "Ouch!"

"Something you're supposed to always carry with you. Basically, just adrenaline." His head tilted afront as he sighed. "However, we lost you before another person could get his. Had to bring you back first before injecting it."

Quinn caught him off-guard when she gawked at him like a child that has seen something incredible. She wrapped his arm and pressed her cheek against it while he looked at her in helpless shock as she half sing-sung, "you're the best doctor in the world."

A slight blush met his cheeks and he moved his face away, unsure how to respond. It didn't take him long to recollect himself and continued where he had stopped though. "Quinn"

She lifted her head again to look at him when his voice became slightly serious in tone, still not letting go of his arm.

"The story didn't end there," he told to her face. "I told you before that your heart has stopped. It couldn't keep up with the adrenaline, so you had a cardiac arrest shortly afterward."

Quinn straightened again. "Makes sense."

"Of course, it does. And you should know what that means for you."

She stared at him with blank eyes, awaiting his continuation.

"I've said you had a cardiac arrest, right?"

She nodded. "Yes."

"And why?"

She nodded again. "That injection."

"And?"

"Oh..." Again she looked away in guilt, feeling less to smile this time. Not knowing what to say next, she stayed tight-lipped and only waited for him to scold her again, if not with another forehead snap.

"Quinn," he started rather soft, "we almost lost you last time. And I don't know if there's any worse dilemma than not tolerating - to a deathly degree - the only medication that's supposed to save your life. It's not a small operation, but a necessary one to prevent something like that to ever happen again." Her eyes had moved to her lap and were carried away in thoughts. He gave her a moment to let the information sink, but she was quieter than he had expected. "Quinn?"

"You're right," said she and surprised him positively. She looked back at his face and the seriousness morphed to a tender smile. "I entrust you my life from now on. 100%."

After all those months trying to convince her and then it came toward him in such a heart-warming way. "I'm glad to hear that. I'll schedule you as soon as possible," he said, getting up and trying to keep his calm demeanor. "I gotta go now. Judy texted me and said she and the others will be here later."

"Wait," she stopped him and her pitch raised in little embarrassment. "How did you do... CPRrrrr?"

Law raised a brow, surprised about the question and his face made her more uncomfortable, almost to the state of regret asking. He pulled the door open, enough to slip through it and tilted his face over his shoulder to look at her with a smirk. "Mouth-to-mouth, of course."

Sure that he was gone, Quinn leaned against the rose mattress, staring with pink cheeks forward while diffident what to think. She couldn't deny the tiny squeal she had suppressed when wavering between joy and confusion.

* * *

Judy came with a slap. Right in Quinn's face, before something else.

"I know what you've told Law!" she yelled at her, Shachi and Penguin stiffened in shock behind her, "'the quickest solution'?!"

Quinn held the sore spot. "I-"

She hugged her tightly, almost suffocating Quinn. "I dare you to ever think like that again, moron!"

"I'm so sorry," Quinn wheezed out, "help, guys!"

Shachi and Penguin shook their heads with shrugs, looking calm all of the sudden. "Nope, she's right."

Judy pushed herself back, Quinn's arms clutched while she was staring at her, half mad, half worried. "Gosh, it's so good to see you alive. You make me so angry."

"D-don't be angry, that makes you look old fast..."

Penguin stepped up and lifted a bag on one hand, a bouquet on the other. "We brought you food and flowers!"

The bag was filled with diverse candies and Judy had even cooked her favorite dish which Quinn didn't mind devouring cold. It was good to see their faces again, catching up on the things that had happened in her absence, and god, Quinn felt even stupider to had thought death was a good option. If she wouldn't be there, she wouldn't know that Shachi had finally quit his day job to pursue his dream of managing his own shop. The grand opening was supposed to be upcoming days and Quinn insisted not to reschedule it just because of her hospitalization. Also, she wouldn't know that Penguin and Stella were dating, an instant connection got them together (though it was the familiarity with his ex aka her sister...). Quinn was ashamed and had been afraid to face either of them after the incident, but it was great and she could kiss each of them on the cheek for being there for her.

...

Later on the next day, Law was on his way to see Quinn. Getting visits from a chief physician often was strange enough for his colleagues to assume their friendship with each other despite addressing one another formally. It didn't bother him to be called Doctor by her at all and he also enjoyed acting along the Miss Heady route in attendance of his coworkers, which brought little nostalgia.

The hospital was quiet around that time and perfect for him to not rush Quinn through the examination. He knew how difficult she could be.

Her room was on the third floor and as he got closer, he stopped when he saw Sabo standing in front of it. He seemed to hesitate to enter as he faced the door with no word but appeared to be drained in thoughts. No flowers or any gifts were with him, but in Law's opinion also not necessary, especially considering the bunch of gifts the others already had brought.

"Trafalgar," said Sabo when he noticed Law around.

Voices already blared from inside, one male and female, Law suspected her friends from the other side.

"If you're looking for Quinn, yes, she's in there."

"How's she doing?" asked Sabo with a small smile, brows slightly furrowed to his worries? Discomfort?

"Can't be bad for her to be alive."

He chuckled. "I mean, in general."

It must have been a while that Quinn actually saw him and not mentioned him every few weeks once. Law was certain the scar that guy had caused was deep, but from what he witnessed not longer meaningful. "She recovered."

Sabo looked up and sighed. "I only heard today what happened and rushed here straight away."

Although Law didn't like him for what he had done to Quinn, he felt no hatred toward Sabo. If he wouldn't know better he would think he was just an emotional, impulsive and unorganized, but amicable guy that meant no harm.

Sabo cocked his head to Law. "You think it's a good idea to see her?"

"No, I don't think it is," he answered, bluntly.

Another smile overcame him. "You said that now because _you_ don't want her to see me?"

Law's lips stayed sealed.

"Alright. I'm happy to hear she's doing good; that's all I wanted to know," said Sabo then and straightened to leave. "Guess you won't tell her anyway I was here. See ya."

Right, Law wouldn't. Nothing was wrong with Sabo's thought to go see her after a life-threatening situation, he would probably have done the same. But even though he was sure Quinn had digested their ex-relationship, he couldn't tell what her reaction might be and if it would have any negative effect on her current condition. Sabo seemed smart enough to think alike regardless his behavior that sought for forgiveness, and Law was sure Quinn's marshmallow heart would give him that sooner or later.

...

The nurse was already around before Law could pop in. After finishing her small lunch, Quinn was prepared to leave the room, the nurse taking the tube off the cannula.

"Well, Miss Heady," said Law, "it's time for your echocardiography."

A wide sarcastic grin spread on her face. "Great, I thought we would never do that!"

"I gotta see another patient, I'll be with you in ten minutes." He left it by a quick check, having Quinn's eyes following his back till he was out of sight.

The nurse brought a wheelchair, which Quinn thought of no need, but she accepted the little ride through the hospital anyway. Though the hospital was rather small, a lot was going on every so often. She, firstly, wondered what ill folk lived in her city, and secondly, perceived the place bigger than it actually was.

Her despise for physicians and hospitals didn't show yet during her stay, quite the contrary, she felt better than expected. For the time being actually happy.

"Dear, I just wanted to look for you," Dr. Dillan's voice crossed her mind and made her dreaming eyes disappear in surprise. The nurse stopped the wheelchair for her to have a little word exchange with the woman who was relieved to hear Quinn was doing fine. "I heard what happened, I wanted to drop by sooner, but it's quite busy at the moment."

"It's alright, I'm feeling pretty good right now. Thank you!"

Dr. Dillan was relieved and turned to the nurse. "Where are you bringing her?"

"Echo."

Her eyebrows raised as if she knew exactly what was going on. "Have fun," she told Quinn like an inside joke and she tightened her lips in fluster, not able to respond in time as the nurse continued to wheel her from the spot.

"So, you're familiar with Dr. Dillan and Dr. Trafalgar?" the nurse asked.

"Yeah... I was her son's teacher, and regarding Dr. Trafalgar..." Quinn smiled wryly as she paused. "Friends."

...

Quinn was waiting on the examination table, dangling her legs and humming some song that stuck to her head since this morning. Therefore she knew what was coming, she was laid-back and thought about things unrelated to any medical issue.

A lot had happened at the party, from good to bad, and Quinn had enough time to think about it. Revised that night several times already, she preferred to rest her mind due to lots of confusion and moments of bewilderment and timidity. That with Law was...

"I hope you're more cooperative today," Law spoke as he entered with a nurse.

She smiled wryly. "I guess..."

He walked to the computer monitor, skimming his eyes over the open file and ordered the nurse to things Quinn labeled obscured and not in her interest. She was mainly waiting for the woman to be gone, watching the two mummed.

The moment the woman was off, Quinn became chatty instantaneously. "Did you know Penguin and Stella are dating?"

"I do."

"I'm so happy for him! I hope this goes well. Did I miss anything new in your life? What's up? Tell me! Urgh, it's just been a week and I feel so isolated in here."

"No major things," Law answered her while he focused on typing on the keyboard. "You were the biggest thing to have happened."

"I'm sorry."

"Sooner or later something like that has to happen," said he and turned to finally look at her. "Take the gown off." Quinn sat a moment blank as if she was waiting for a more explicit explanation of why she should do that. "I need your torso to be free down to your waist."

"Alright, alright." Of course, she knew, but it didn't keep her from faltering a bit. She was undressing upon his watch, eyes welded with his pair as if anything bad would happen when she were to lose sight of her enemy.

"What?" said Law. "Do you really think I'm that much of a pervert?"

"Yes."

"I'm a doctor, not a philanderer."

Quinn slipped her arms out of the gown, the ribbon that held it together on her neck loosened, and she sat in her joggers, still holding the piece of clothing tightly afront her torso.

"Are you that embarrassed?" he asked, a small tone of tease beneath his stoicism.

"Yes."

He chuckled, walking to the echocardiograph and turned it on. "You're so tighten up."

Quinn's eyelids sank half over her eyeballs, directed to the side, a sarcastic smile resting upon her. "That has to come from you..."

While he set up the EKG, his gaze smirked at her from the edge of his eyes. "Your nude body will be just one of a dozen I've seen."

"Excuse me?!" Quinn's cheeks heated up to the state of visible. "Did you hear yourself talk?"

"I did, and I'm not taking that back," he said, treating the situation with lax.

"Well, then I'll go to─ ha-ha!" She had moved the gown down, revealing herself in a sports bra with a devious bright smile. "Surprise, I'm prepared for today!"

Law didn't even look and she blasted out a breath of dissatisfaction, falling to the exam table.

"Lie down," he ordered simply like she was incidental.

"If you'd be looking, you'd see I'm already lying..." Quinn grumbled. On her back, she stared at the ceiling like everything altered to insignificance. Like she was bored.

Law turned with his chair to her. "I'll have to put those electrodes-"

He was gazing at her and the sudden silence moved Quinn's face back to him. "What?"

His glance shifted to the side with a wide close smile, which she wasn't sure to translate to amusement or something else, and he inhaled slow and deeply so that she could watch his chest rising and hear the sound of the air scratching his nostrils.

"What?" Quinn repeated, this time harsher.

He stuck on sticky patches on her chest that were connected to the EKG, still carrying that smile that took her serenity.

"Edit my review from February this year: the doctor is not just an unprofessional pervert, he's now also a professional anxiety maker."

"Anxiety?" Law finally spoke, "you seem very calm in my eyes."

"Well, turn on that display and you'll see anything but calm."

"I'm sorry," he said and moved for a wand, putting a transparent gel on its flat top, "I was taken aback by that aesthetics."

Quinn's cheeks tickled with pink again and she looked with narrowed eyes to the wall on the other side. "Edit: the doctor's flirting with his patient, is that even legal?"

"Please turn on your left, patient," he told, staring at her. Quinn obeyed, letting her back facing him. He put his arm over her, it now hovering with discretion above, and put the wand to her chest, the cold gel startling her for a second. "For your information, I have to move the transducer, so you don't need to edit your imaginative review to the doctor is touching me with his wand or something alike."

Quinn burst out laughing. "Alright, info saved."

"Keep stressing. It's good to see your heart pump."

"Eh? I can't just stress on command─"

Her heart pumped twice as fast in an instant as Law leaned a little over, smiling slyly at her face beneath his.

"You wonder why I avoid this procedure?" she said with a tomato face due to the fact that Law could see her reaction on his monitor, "you know, you're the one making everything uncomfortable!"

"Shouldn't have made a big deal out of it," he leaned back to look at the screen, the mock staying on his face.

"Oh, great, I'll be totally relaxed while some freak's smirking at me all the time. Earth to Law: that's creepy."

He sighed in mockery. "First I'm not smiling at all, now I'm doing too much. Only complaints, Miss Heady."

"Don't you have a mirror at home? Maybe your face will make you stop smiling too."

As Law didn't respond, Quinn tilted her head over as much as she could and saw his absorption on the monitor while he moved the wand slightly over her chest. She didn't dare to ask what the matter was seeing him serious in a snap.

"This definitely requires surgery," said he and Quinn gulped. "You've said your first symptoms came up a few years ago when you were in college, right?"

Quinn nodded with a little confirming sound.

"But you're still able to exercise limited?"

She nodded again.

"When was the last time you exercised or ran out of breath?"

"The last time like party night?" she said, Law not amused. "Alright, alright, sorry. Uhm, it's definitely been a while, I can't really recall either. I think I've stopped exercising regularly after my breakup. Hmm..."

"Normally, I'd like to do a stress test to check on your current performance. But I think that's not even necessary anymore after your cardiac arrest." He ogled the monitor results again, Quinn just listening to him as she was clueless. "You've something called a bicuspid aortic valve. You can turn on your back."

He shifted his chair over to the counter and grabbed his notepad with a pen while Quinn turned around and gawked at his motions of drawing something then.

Law had drawn something like a bad ellipse, or head, or whatever. But of course, she knew this was a simplistic depiction of a heart and she couldn't help finding it cute that he attempted to explain that to her with a sketch. She figured it was the easiest way for her to understand when she glimpsed at the poster on the wall, showing a more detailed picture of a heart and dozen of technical terms that would just confuse.

Law divided the ellipse into four parts with a horizontal and vertical line crossing in the middle. "The heart has four chambers. Top left and right are the atriums where the blood's filled. Bottom left and right are the ventricles where the blood's pumped."

Quinn nodded, enjoying that extra lesson and almost forgot it was all about her heart condition. Seeing Law working and talking about the things he was an expert of changed his vibe to something more respectable. Not that she had no respect otherwise, but it's always nice to see people being invested. It changed something in their all general radiance.

"The heart has two large main vessels that pump blood. The right provides the pulmonary artery that carries your blood to your lungs, and the left provides your aorta that carries the blood to your body."

Quinn raised an arm like a student. "And what about the brain?"

"That's another story you don't have to know now," he told. "We're focusing on your aorta." He circled the drawn vessel on the right side. "The normal aortic valve has three cusps that open and close when the blood goes through with every heartbeat."

He tried to depict it through another sketch and Quinn analyzed it with small eyes. "Hmm... looks like some sci-fi alien mouth."

"With your condition, you have only two cusps, make it harder for your heart to pump the blood. Over time, they can thicken and narrow the opening and at its worst, stiffen and don't close anymore. Are you listening?"

"Yes," Quinn said, still carrying the over-pensive expression on his drawing. "It's just my great imagination seeing other things in your art." Her eyes moved slowly up to his face, noticing that he was quietly waiting for her to focus. "I-I'm sorry! But I listened! Thicken, narrow, stiffen and don't close anymore!"

"Well, Miss Heady, I hope your students don't behave like that when you try to teach them."

"Ouh, they totally do! Even worse, sometimes they're not even turning their heads to the front and do something else like chatting with each other. Luffy even falls asleep every other day and I hate scolding him because he's actually so lovely, but I can't let him pass with this. But not all my students are like that, it really depends on how I present─" Her huge eyes looked at him in guilt with a straight smile equally in expression.

Law put the notepad down, carrying on as if there had been just a natural pause in between. "That narrowing's called aortic stenosis and from what I can observe, that's what your heart's up to. The blood's leaking back to your heart and will weaken your ventricle."

"So the peanut incident caused that?"

"Seems so since you were alright without medication before. The harder your heart pumps, the more the cusps thickens. I'll have to send you for an MRI to have a better look at your current state. But I think I'll have to replace your aortic valve completely."

"You _have_ to?"

"There's the option to repair it, depending on how severe the problem's, but I don't think repairing is an option for you. Also, it might leak again after an indefinite period and causes other problems that have to be treated as well."

"Hm..." Quinn pursed her lips in thoughts. "So why would other people choose that?"

"Firstly, it's not a guarantee that other problems will occur. Secondly, the replacement option bears other cons."

Not sure what to imagine, she carried an unsettled smile. "What's equal to a risk of more or recurring problems? Besides death, which I'm sure you do not recommend to me."

"Well, either take the option for a bioprosthetic that needs a renewing every 10-15 years, or a mechanical product that requires regular medication lifelong."

Quinn kept quiet.

Law added a few other information, such as the possible risks during and after surgery. "But we'll talk about everything in detail after the MRI. You'll be handed a document with all information before surgery, which you have to sign to continue."

She took a moment to process everything in her head, realizing that there was no way around a medical intervention if she didn't want former occurrence to iterate. And next time might not end well. "After surgery, how long do I have to stay here?"

"Depends on your body. At least a week, but some stay longer; two or three."

A soft smile. "Sooo, three weeks seeing your face everyday huuuh?"

"I don't think so," Law said, "I'll be still busy, but if you really want I can drop by for a swift check every now and then."

"I didn't say I need that."

"Just saying, if you really want me to."

Quinn sucked in her lower lip. "...thank you, but don't make the effort."

"Alright." Law removed the patches from her chest while she bemused the ceiling.

"Funny where our relationship's gone, don't cha think so?"

"To a disaster that almost ended in death and could be only prevented because I was around?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I was saying." She snickered. "Back then you were Dr. Pervert and me Miss Heady - and now you're just Law and me Peanut."

"Didn't think you'd still wanna be called like that." Law took a tissue, ready to wipe the gel excesses off her chest. But he hesitated to do when he thought twice about it.

"Why? Because of the incident?" Quinn asked and looked at him, who then handed her the tissue which she took with no question and cleaned herself with implicitness. "Nope, I got used to it and I like it! Also, it's not like I didn't know about my nut allergies before. Keep me a Peanut."

"We're done," said he and walked to the computer, noting down information while also checking the schedule briefly. "A nurse will take you to the MRI later. You can reckon in approximately two hours. You'll get to know after when exactly the operation will be. But I'm certain tomorrow. Do you have any other questions?"

"Everything cool." She put her gown back on. "Soooo... tomorrow huh? And you sure there's no way around it?"

"Well, you've gone the way around and seen what happened."

"And what if I wake up during the operation?"

A nurse walked in, catching Law's careful eyes that followed her movements without changing the position of his head as he talked to Quinn. "Very unlikely."

"But not impossible."

"Miss Heady. I've already informed you about the risks and possible complications. What else do you want me to say?"

"Fiiiine," said she and jumped from the exam table. When Law looked at her only soundless, as if he was judging, she looked to her feet. "I'm sorry... Maybe I've heard too many horror stories. I mean, haven't you ever had the feeling a physician's no clue when you were younger? Not that I say you have no clue, I bet you have, but-but-buuut... There's always a risk, and I'm not saying this hospital's incompetent!"

The nurse left again after picking up some equipment, Law looking after her to confirm her exit.

"Buuut you see me? I don't have the best luck in the world, so─"

"Quinn."

"It's not about skills, more of a bad luck thin─"

"Do you trust me?"

She hushed when Law asked, both staring at each other in silence. "I do... but you're not alo─"

"It's _my_ team."

* * *

On the day of surgery, the only time Quinn saw Law was in the morning when he came to explain the procedure. It was a quick chat, not many detailed explanations as she didn't inquire those. She was convinced that if she knew too much, she would panic by overthinking every step they were going to make, not having the knowledge of how safe and common the process actually was.

Seeing Law was also a way to calm her. She even felt bad to sort of have questioned his skills before, knowing that he wouldn't go into surgery if he wouldn't know the subject. Yes, he did calculate risks for failure, that was obligatory, but he showed more confidence in his skills and that was comforting.

On that very morning when no one was looking, he stepped up to her as she averted her look, and reached for her hand with a squeeze. Law just wanted her to be healthy again and he knew acting out of his usual habits would mean a lot to her. It was the little act of empathy she required to devoted her trust into his hands fully, to see he was understanding the fear behind, the hole of trust in physicians that had been made 18 years ago. She should know she wasn't just a number to him.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** First of all, thank you for the massive amount of reviews in the last chapter! Anyway, off to my replies._

 _ **Jisca** \- of course, I wouldn't! That would get me into hell._

 _ **Ada** \- Surprise, she's very alive! Thank you for your support and your opinion on Quinn means a lot to me! Like, A LOT._

 _ **HoveringSquirrel** \- There you go, and now off to the next!_

 _ **Savage Kill** \- Forgive me for those four months (;﹏;) And wow, evil assumptions here haha, that would be overkill, don't cha think?_

 _ **Nightmare22** \- Hello, lovely! Always happy to receive your time for reviewing! Huge compliment for a writer when complimenting their writing! I think I had a good day revising it haha. I rewrote the kiss scene a lot and I'm so happy it's perceived well, so thank you for letting me know. Thank you for the whole review in general, I reread it a few times to boost my motivation hehe, and forgive me for the slow-mo update._

 _ **KagomeUchiha101** \- Calm down, she's fine hehe_

 _ **Velonica14** \- aw, your review makes me emotional too. Nothing better than positive feedback 3_

 _ **Apple Bloom** \- Yes, I hate cliffhangers too! But it was just natural to make the cut, so I apologize._

 _ **Jag** \- So, you think they woke up ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)?_

 ** _baronnis -_** _aw, they would blush if they would see this comment_

 ** _rikichancute -_** _she's alive, so I hope you didn't cry! Or I hope you did? Either way good, I guess..._

 ** _EunLi -_** _Oh yes, I was waiting for this freaking kiss as well_

 _ **YukikoKitamura66** \- No panic on the Titanic!_

 _ **Sarge1130** \- yeah, Quinn's a quirky babbler, but I guess she (sometimes) knows when to shut her mouth :D Or she was just taken aback lol. Anyway, glad you liked it! Thank you for supporting and loving our surgeon of death so much to even bear that blonde hoho._

 _ **breeswalkingaway** \- phew, I hope you're still here and enjoyed this and the following chapters_

 _ **Blueluna12 & Guest** \- Hey, lucky you for finishing the previous chapter only recently hahaha. Spared you from my giant update gap ( ° ͜ʖ °)_


	55. Too good to be true

**55\. Too good to be true**

"Shachi, are you crazy?"

Hanging his upper body half over the bar table, Shachi groaned into his sleeves.

Penguin looked at Law who sat in all serenity across. "Did you hear that? He wants to shut down his shop!"

Shachi lifted his head from the table. "I barely have customers and it's all a mess with the deliveries. This is too much, too many phone calls and e-mails to answer!"

"You should hire people to help you out," said Law, sipping on his drink.

"I don't have the money yet to hireeee!"

"You need money?" Law asked and Shachi shook his head immediately to his offering tone.

"I do, but it's fine!" he said, "you don't have to lend me."

"You sure?"

He confirmed twice, emptying his glass in one go before Stella jumped in and refilled it with a jug. "Oh Shachi, you should take that money."

Shachi grabbed the glass again to drink it down even faster before he dashed it back on the table. "I got myself into that mess, and I'll get myself out of it."

She looked at the empty glass and had to think if she should refill it or not, but eventually did with Shachi emptying it nonstop again. "If you say so. Stop whining though."

"Emotional support, Stella! Ever heard of that?"

"Sure," she said and walked off to serve the other guests.

While Shachi stayed in his misery, Penguin turned to Law. "How's Quinn doing by the way? Hope she's alright."

"She's recovering slowly, but well," said he, "I think we can release her in a few days."

"That's good to hear! We should plan something big like a night out for dinner to celebrate her return."

From afar the three saw Judy walking up to their booth, the creases between her brows showing. She sat down in a slug, no greeting with the irritation on her face. "Can you believe my boss was threatening me for being late lafter I visited Quinn? It were only five minutes and that shithead made it look like five hours." Her eyes rolled up and she made him literally sound like a bitch when imitating him, "'Miss Volkova, I don't care about your friend in the hospital; Miss Volkova, I had a very bad day, so don't make it worse for me' ─ geez!"

"Really sounds like a shithead," Shachi said.

"Maybe you should consider to leave and look for another job," Law said, "you're complaining a lot about him."

"I can't just look for another job," she said, "not everyone has a resume like you."

"Yours can't be that bad," Penguin said, "must be enough to find another job."

She rolled her eyes once more, jiggling her head. "Y'all make it sound so easy. It's not like I haven't been trying before."

"Show me your resume," Law said, and she looked at him in detest.

"No thanks, I can do that on my own."

Penguin raised with a grunt into space. "You're just like Shachi, too proud to accept help."

"What's his problem?"

"His incompetence to run an own business! And of course, he declined help too."

Shachi jerked his face from the table. "Oh shut up! You'd do the same!"

"No, I'd not! I'd appreciate Law's offer!"

"Yeah, _appreciate it_ , but not taking it! I did appreciate it too!"

The two exaggerated with a private bicker and Judy ignored them, asking Law about Quinn's condition instead. He told her the same as he has told the other two, calming at least one thing on her mind.

"Be honest, is she annoying you?" she asked, "I mean in a Quinn way."

"She's Quinn," he said, making it matter of factly, "but since she's out of the ICU, I don't see her that often."

"Oh." Judy kept a silent gaze on him and he raised a brow in query. "Maybe you should swing by tomorrow. I'm sure she'll be happy."

His face didn't approve her idea completely and looked rather uncertain about it.

"You wanna tell me she wouldn't be? That girl's texting me like crazy about how dull it's there."

"Yeah," he said with low voice, knowing exactly what she meant, "I'll see what I can do."

* * *

At one end of the third floor of the hospital was a lounge with big windows facing the parking area. It was something around 1 AM when Quinn crept through the empty halls in her hospital gown, shifting the infusion stand with her as she aimed that place. No stuff was present besides the ones sitting at the info bar in another corridor, and she was spooked by the atmosphere the building held, the cool artificial light making everything unreal. The type of spook was the one of an overly friendly person that made you skeptical; in that case, it was the overly cleanliness.

Dr. Dillan was waiting alone for the elevator when she saw Quinn around and brought her to halt like she had caught her doing something bad. "Huh? What are you doing here so late, Dear?"

She did act according to that, since having a patient ghosting around at night was not common. "I waaaas..." Quinn's answer delayed as she searched for an excuse. "...looking for the bathroom."

"But you have one in your room?"

"Yes," she said, "I just wanted to be sure. No, I wanted to go to the snack machine. No, fresh air." Dr. Dillan's stare seemed still, but there was no way someone wouldn't declare her behavior weird, hence she put the painkillers (in the empty infusion bag) on account of it.

Dr. Dillan's eyes followed her finger pointing to the infusion bag and back at her odd smiling face. She smiled back, not making a fuzz out of it and only told her to not stay awake too long. As she was gone behind the elevator, Quinn let out her relief and continued to move to the big windows.

She liked Dr. Dillan but felt like she knew too much. Did she? Were their behavior so obvious?

Quinn stared through the polished glass down at the parking area, the car she was looking for easy to spot. Law's metallic yellow car was neatly parked at the same spot he usually used. When he had his night shift or those past 24 hours shifts, his car rested in the big car park next to the hospital's main building. According to him, it was faster to reach outside, but, of course, safer when it was secured behind barriers.

She hadn't seen him today but remembered that he already had been gone around this time the other few days the week. Unclear why he was still at work, she kept staring waiting to see him leave.

"What are you doing?" Law said right behind her, staring over her head outside as well and she hid her startle, eyes closed, inhaling quietly.

"Looking out of the window? Obviously?" said she as if it was a stupid question and turned around to look at him.

He was already in his private clothes; blackish denim with a slim fit hoodie matched to his laid-back face.

"Really?" said he, "what do you hope to see from here?"

Seeing that he knew what she was up to despite the unwinding, she didn't think of starting a banter. "You going home now?"

"Well, it's pretty late." A teasing smile spread on his face. "If you want me to stay so badly, you just have to ask."

"Bye," she answered straight away, not even looking at him anymore as she walked off.

He looked after her, his mood openly fine. "Goodnight, Peanut."

...

Sitting on her bed, Quinn took her phone out of the drawer and couldn't wait to text him with a smile so amused, she'd would feel the tiny pink tint on her cheeks if it was possible. _'I have this super delicious onigiri that Judy brought me today! Eating it now! Extra slow to enjoy every bite.'_

The aforementioned food was actually gone down her stomach hours ago, but there was no other topic in her mind she could use to text him. She couldn't help but perceived random things, such as those stuffed rice balls, as a reminder for Law, and at more than a handful of occasions, she had to stop herself from texting and talking too much to him or at all.

Law's messages were always crisp and short, he rather talked than text, and when he didn't reply she couldn't take him amiss, wondering if someone else were to write her so much trivial stuff if she would be annoyed too. He never considered it annoyance himself though, but he did enough then so that Quinn just stuck to it. Sometimes he was also just too busy to reply and claimed to have forgotten to get back to it later.

After the surgery had been a success, she had spent an additional week in the ICU where Law was the only person that came to visit. The others she only had seen once within that week due to necessary rest, and after being transferred into the normal unit, Law seemed to have reduced his time for her. She wondered if he had squeezed in extra time to visit her then, and now that she was recovering well stopped stressing about it.

Message seen with no answer, Quinn pursed her lips and put the device under her pillow and lied down on her back. Soon she glimpsed to her chest and lifted the gown to look inside. A long white bandage was taped between her breasts and the thought of all the different tubes being connected to her then terrified her memory. She couldn't wait to have the bandage removed, but what she could wait for was seeing a new scar right in her center. All her shirts and dresses (her lovely sundresses!) with too much cleavage would be banned from her closet, the thought made her sigh and with mourning came tiredness. It was time to sleep anyway, thus she switched off the small lamp on the wall.

Minutes later the hall lights turned on again and gained her attention as a shadow moved in front of her door, visible through the slit at the bottom. Quinn kept watching, contracting her lungs as if someone was going to murder her, and did not move until the knocks.

She turned the light on and called the person in, just to be surprised by Law. "Eh?"

"You do seem lonely," said he, entering casually, "want another room with someone else?"

"You can't take that amiss I'm feeling kinda lost here, and no, I'm happy having my single room."

He took place on the chair next to her bed. "So, where's your super delicious onigiri?"

Quinn looked away, stumbling with her answer. "...already ate it."

"Really? So quick?"

"Yeaahh..? I am a quick eater."

"Quick eaters must also have a big mouth."

"Urgh, fine, I wanted you here," said she, eyes rolling swiftly. "Happy? But only because it's so practical we're in the same place for weeks! I'd prefer Judy! Or Penguin! Or Shachi! Hell yeah, even- you know I don't like it when you're just staring and say nothing."

His slightly amused expression had become not necessarily grave but somewhat sober and Quinn muted for a moment, hoping that he would stop being so quiet. But it took longer than she tolerated and her eyes rolled again. "Fine, was just kidding. Of course, I like your presence. I appreciate y'aaaall, so can you please-"

"Wanna talk?" He muzzled her in an instant, blank eyes facing him. "You were attempting this quite a few times now."

As serious as he appeared, Quinn's attitude returned to false ease. "Huuuuh? When you've noticed that, why didn't you say something?"

"I didn't want to. Had no comment to what happened at the party."

"It's alright," she said and shook her head, lips pressed to a smile that wasn't far from a straight line. "We don't have to talk about it anymore. I don't wanna either."

"Quinn," he said and got up to sit on the bed and looked at her as she escaped his gaze. "Just say what you wanted to say."

"No, it's fine..."

"So you wanna leave me without a clue? Just like that, so I can overthink whatever bothered your mind?"

"That's not fair." She narrowed her brows at him. "You never wanna talk and for this time, I don't want to and you act like this."

He remained silent, hence she knew that he was aware she was right and that he should be the last person to demand information in such way. But Quinn didn't feel well like that either and sighed. "Sorry... It's just..."

He was carefully listening as she looked at him again, his face not strained, but all attention on her. As if he knew already that nothing positive would result from whatever she was going to say.

She looked down to her lap, thinking how to start before she spilled her thoughts. "You know, it doesn't matter anyway what you and I were thinking then. If it was meaningful or not, it wouldn't change anything between us ─ I hope. You don't date ─ besides that you can lose your job here dating me ─ and well, I don't do either so that even hypothetically, it couldn't work; and you know I'm also not into this friends with benefits or affair thingy, so before we make everything awkward between us, we should just let that in the past. There's absolutely nothing to say more."

Quinn was afraid to peek while he was processing the things she said in his mind. She wondered what took him so long to think, that there was actually not a lot for him to respond. At least she thought so.

"You're right," said he finally, and she looked back at him as he added, "tell me one thing though."

Again the smothering silence, again his silent stare. His right hand moved up to her cheek without cutting their eye contact and he caressed his thumb over her cheekbone. His hand was warm and coarse, latter probably from working out, a typical male hand; she liked it when he touched her so gently.

"Law...?"

His hand fell back. He got up.

"Goodnight, Peanut."

Then he was out of her room.

She didn't know what happened, why the energy that surrounded her became so wobbly all of a sudden, why it felt like she just did something stupid. Her eyes were still fixed to the door even when he was out and a burning wave crept up her face until her eyes went wet.

Facing the bathroom mirror at that moment was the worst she could've done. She smiled at her blotched face and wiped any tear away that left her eyes with a little laugh. "Quinn, you're just getting attached to people easily. It's the same with Sabo, ...and Hugo, ...and Philip."

 _"I miss you here,"_ Judy spoke on the other side of the line as Quinn had cuddled herself back into her bed. _"I'm glad you'll be back in a few days; since the party, it's been almost three weeks?"_

"Judy?"

 _"Hm?"_

"I've talked to Law," Quinn said with a trembling smile, "you don't have to worry anymore, I promised then and now."

If that wasn't enough for her to not consider him at all, to forget about him in such way and carry their good friendship to eternity. Because being friends was easier.

 _"Don't."_

Quinn was muddled.

 _"Don't talk nonsense and make those promises over and over again."_

"But─"

 _"No, Quinn,"_ Judy said, voice sounding tired yet serious, _"it's enough. Really."_

"No, I'm serious! I know you don't like it when he and I are-"

 _"You know he likes you, right?"_

Quinn's chest tightened, her sight slowly starting the blur again. She didn't mishear her friend, did she?

 _"Quinn?"_

"I'm serious here, why are you joking around?"

 _"I'm not, and you know that."_

"Is this one of your assumptions again?"

Judy's low sigh reached the other end of the line. _"No, he told me."_

"Why would─"

 _"I'm not supposed to tell you that, but I did, so just accept it!"_

She looked back at the door and a quiet sarcastic snort pushed from her lungs. This time she didn't wipe her eyes, tasting every saltness running between her smile. "Well, the last two times I heard someone likes me turned out to be not true."

Law was... a weird guy. He was tall, smart, strong and incredibly handsome. His voice was relaxing, his humor something else. He was a leader yet a lone wolf. A jerk yet honorable. Mysterious yet trustworthy. Arrogant yet responsible.

He wasn't easy to connect to; he never hid his distrust and evaded phony friendliness. An honest man that had his heart open for the very few in this world. someone that chose wisely. But once you reach that person, once you stood in his life with little sight to disappear again, then he didn't let you down.

Upright and respectful, that's the treatment you would get. An occasional asshole, but there for you when you needed it. Someone. Him. He would put things up for you, no matter how exasperating he claimed it to be, no matter how annoyed, in the end, he was there and cared.

Law seemed special, but she just couldn't see it. She couldn't see that he was _that_ special, that anyone would be that special in her life ever again. That she was that special to someone's life.

He was... too good to be true.

Quinn remembered the first time ever she fell in love. She remembered the cozy feeling she developed being in that someone's near, the butterflies noising in her stomach, the need to have that someone around. It was suddenly so easy to speak out her mind, nothing halted from sharing her fears and worries to that someone. It felt good to be appreciated, to have someone being nice to her and made her laugh. To see that she did good to that person too. To see the good sides of life, feeling something that seemed to be from another world, a perfect world with flaws shrinking to peas.

It felt good to be openly vulnerable.

But sometimes people miscalculate and before they would know, their heart would lie shattered on the ground and that perfect world they were trying to hold would never return. It would never be the same.

It felt bad to be openly vulnerable.

* * *

The bar cleared by each person the closer it came to its closing time. Three in the night and Judy sat in the corner of the bar counter, her face hanging in her palm. She didn't notice how loud it used to be and how quiet it became during her stay and Milo had already giver her her fourth beer.

"Don't wanna go home?" he asked on the other side of the counter.

"Nah," Judy said with a smile away from her eyes, "only when you kick me out."

"You look bad, Sweetie. Is Quinn still doing bad?"

Judy straightened, her joints feeling like she didn't use them for days. "Nah, she's alright I think. Just real-life catching up with me."

"Guy problems?"

She looked at him and then giggled out a sound of stupidity. Yes, she felt a little silly. "Maybe. So nothing really important."

Milo took a brief look over the almost empty bar and then leaned with his arms forward, over the counter. "If a guy's giving you a headache, most of the time, he's not the one."

Judy knew he was kind of right but couldn't reciprocate with a word and swayed her eyes off to the side, ridiculing herself with a smile.

"Hola, Señora," Stella joined them, drying her wet hands on the apron she was wearing, "still here?"

Relieved, Milo looked at his employee and motioned his head toward their guest, showing that he was not the right person to talk to while she apparently was in need of someone. Stella understood and settled next to her while Milo got away to continue his work.

"I know what your problem is," said Stella and Judy lifted her slugged head to look at her. "I was looking exactly the same then. _Men."_

She inhaled, her smile giving in. "Y'all got me. I must be easy to read." Stella gave her the look of query, expecting her to talk and Judy bit her lower lip. "Well, there's this guy. We don't have a lot in common, or... not exactly. Maybe too much? I don't know."

"Okay?"

"And... I don't know why he attracts me that much."

Stella raised a brow. "You don't happen to have slept with him?"

Judy's mouth formed a wordless O like when feeling guilty while her eyes shifted away as if Stella had seen right through her. "I have. A few times, actually."

"And let me guess, he likes your friend."

Judy's eyes became small, gazing at her as if she was a psychic. "Yes..."

"And you should be happy, but it maddens you and you don't know why it's like that."

"Are you stalking me?" Judy asked and washed her hand over her face, "or is it written on here?"

Stella laughed. "Well, I have a sister."

Judy shared the laugh. "Oh, yeah, that girl's like my sister." Straightening on the barstool, she blew another weary sigh. "That guy's been quite a jerk to me before we became friends. And it feels like we only became friends because I was the only person he could talk to about her."

"Ouch."

"Yeah... There's absolutely no reason for me to like him, but somehow, for some fucking reason, I can't get him out of my head, and it hurts to be treated semi-important. No matter how often I think about how nonsense my feelings are, that shit's still in my head."

"Well," Stella said, taking a moment to recapitulate her words. "I'm a law major, but I do have a degree in psychology, so don't judge my pseudo-psychological babble." Judy didn't expect much but thought it wouldn't hurt to listen. "Does he make you feel special in any way, no matter if negative or positive?"

"Quite the contrary, he sometimes makes me feel like nothing," Judy said, snorting in sarcasm.

"He's surely not the first guy you've slept with."

"Way far from the first guy."

Stella eyed her up and down. "Well, and I'm certain you have no problem to find other guys sexually pleasing you."

"It's been a while though," Judy said, overplaying it with another sarcastic remark.

Not saying more, Stella looked at her and Judy returned the silent stare. She didn't hope to find something helpful from this conversation, she wasn't even sure if she wanted help or just needed someone listening to her.

"Does he remind you of someone?"

Judy quirked a brow. "What do you mean?"

"An ex maybe?"

"Always been single."

"What was your relationship with your mother like?"

Surprised about that question that came out of nowhere, Judy wasn't sure if she was supposed to answer that or if it was just a joke. When Stella seemed to be serious about it, Judy strained her jaw and looked aside. "It's complicated. Kinda had a love-hate relationship with her."

Stella raised her brows in interest.

"But nothing too deep, we didn't have the closest relationship and now haven't talked in years since she went abroad. Her and my father weren't the best match, you know?"

"And where's your father now?"

She shrugged with a careless smile. "Somewhere in this town? With him it's more of an unipolar relationship. I moved out the day I turned 18."

"A jerk?"

"An asshole."

Stella stretched and cracked her neck, checking on the last customers (besides her friend) leaving. "Girl, I think you should look up for Electra complex."


	56. The 6th of October

_**A/N:** It's a triple update! Go back to chapter 54!_

* * *

 **56\. The 6th of October**

Law opened his eyes to the vibration of his cellphone. It was lying on the black nightstand next to his king size bed, hitting the clean surface repeatedly. He grabbed it as his lids close again, rubbing his face with the other hand before checking what the noise was.

 _'Happy Birthday, best doctor in the world!'_ Quinn had texted him with a bunch of emojis, the first congratulation message to receive that day. And it wasn't going to be much more since not many had hold of his private number.

Quinn had been acting out of the box lately; since she had left the hospital they hadn't heard from each other. Sure the others had asked him twice to hang out when everyone had time, but he was too busy and exhausted to stay away from his work and place. Today was the first time after 70 hours to wake up in his own apartment. The colder the weather became, the busier the hospital. It wasn't just colds but dangerous infections already imperiled patients caught.

So the text message Quinn had sent induced mixed feelings. It had started with a small smile before he recalled how detached she acted. He almost regretted to had 'the talk' with her, the one that supposedly reset their essence to normal.

Law didn't reply and put the phone down, pushing himself upright. It was his free day and he considered staying in bed for a little longer than usual, but couldn't help to find himself fully awake at this time.

Five in the morning ─ only Quinn could text him so early.

Law didn't ponder long and went for a run around the blocks. The sun was barely to see outside and he despised the thought of Quinn doing her runs around that time either, if not earlier. That was what she at least had said; to start her work out again after surgery, when she was completely healed from her pain. Should have been four weeks already since the operation.

Panting, he came to halt at the backyard of the tall building he resided in, wiping the sweat from his forehead with his wristlet. The rest of his quick work out he did at the small calisthenics park in the area.

At long last, he was alright with the day starting early. It felt less like his time was running away before he would hit work again. He took a longer shower than usual though, standing still with his feet on the anthracite tiles in his bathroom and letting the warm water down his naked body.

Today he became 26.

Penguin and Shachi had been wheezing when they discovered he got the day off. It was one of the rare occasions for this date to hit one of those and taking holiday was out of his consideration, because it was just a birthday. They weren't children anymore, albeit the two told him how different it was regarding _his_ birthday. Because he worked most of the time; because he always rested alone on his free days; because he never took time to have actual 'fun' (bedding strange women didn't count ─ and he probably hadn't had sex for months anyway).

To have met Judy and Quinn was called a blessing. Allegedly it had been the first time for him to be open about activities normal people do in their spare time. Going out for drinks, parties and especially leaving for holidays. Law didn't recall it to be first, he rather had been like that since he had started to work at the hospital fulltime, but it seemed fair that they thought of him that way. Even when his boredom drew him to do more than relaxing in his apartment, he was always only the observer.

Amusement park? Law waited with his beer at the stalls. Clubbing? Law waited with his rum at a table. Bowling? Law half-slept on the bench. The parent that let his child do its thing on the playground and was always ready to leave.

The next birthday message he got was from Judy. Plain ' _happy bday'_ as he checked after the shower. And before he could put his phone down, Dr. Dillan's congratulations intruded.

 _'Dear Law Trafalgar, Jimmy and I wish you a very nice birthday. We hope you'll have a lovely day with your friends. In any case, you can call back. Dillan.'_

The annual formality made him almost laugh, and amused he threw his cellphone on his bed.

After breakfast, Law laid with his back on his black bedsheets again, hands behind his head and eyes shut. No more than an hour to his estimation until his comrades would call for their birthday plans. It was the same every year and his answer was most of the time 'okay, I'm at the bar around this or that super late time'. But this year, on this Saturday,... he felt like not doing anything.

It surely meant Judy and Quinn were going to be around too, maybe Stella also since she and Penguin had become a couple. They would sit in the bar with a self-made birthday cake, all attention on him and made him uncomfortable while singing a birthday song. The worst: he would be too embarrassed to thank them properly.

Law opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

Quinn would try to surprise him. She would gather a silly birthday present out of many little things, including bears and stickers. She might try to get him drunk with the argument of getting him looser because he's so uptight. But she would decline alcohol for herself and remind him of the disaster at the beach. Everyone would be drunk after one or two hours, and the two would share an awkward little, non-essential, small talk. Until they were alone and they would finally have 'the talk 2'.

And Quinn would say, 'let's stay friends. Just good friends.'

It was the thing he did not want to happen, what he wanted to avoid by all means, even when it entailed not to face her for a time being.

They weren't 'just good friends', she also knew it. And during the time they hadn't talked, Law didn't want to think of her thoughts, of why she had chosen to be so absent from his life.

It wasn't that she still had feelings for her ex, was it? Or exes. He didn't know, she mentioned them way too often. Was she really scared that things between them would change in a bad way when they keep up their relationship to each other? What was it? A mix of wanting to know and not brew in his head and only the incoming message could throw him off.

 _'Meet us at the bar around two!'_ Penguin texted.

...

It was half-past one, Law didn't know what to do with his time, thus decided to arrive earlier at the bar. None of his friends were around yet, to his surprise, and he walked up to the bar counter.

Milo, who was polishing a set of glasses, turned his face over his shoulder to look at him. "Afternoon," said he with no much emotion as he was turning his head back. Law didn't greet back but went straight with his order to what the bartender replied "one drink for the doctor."

To his surprise. He raised a brow and watched Milo putting the glass and cloth down and moved from the spot to get him his drink. They never shared any intimacy like any of the girls did, he wasn't even supposed to know his occupation, let alone talk to him that way. Must have been either Quinn's chatty mouth or Stella's sniveling.

A cocktail. Milo had put a cocktail in front of him; glowing pink. "A Mr. Immortal for the birthday lad. Alcohol-free though."

Perplexed, he eyed it and a confused but calm 'thank you' ran from his lips.

Milo nodded once before he returned to his work.

The longer he eyed it, the more his face betrayed him with a helpless little smile. Sipping, he agreed, it was not worth eleven bucks.

Minutes later, his pager went on.

* * *

Penguin was sitting in the waiting halls of the hospital, his phone held to his ears while he was staring into space.

 _"Just tell me in time before you come,"_ Shachi said on the other line.

Penguin sighed. "I don't know, what if they don't let him go any time soon?"

 _"We're used to it being late, it's alright! Just like any other year and they all'd worked out!"_

"But those were just bar nights, nothing special. And you know, he does seem very busy these days, it's like he refuses to see us."

Shachi groaned his annoyance aloud like it was an echoing topic _. "Yes, this guy won't talk, but I'm sure he won't send us home on his birthday. I mean, come on!"_

Turning his head worried from left to right to check if Law was finally around, Penguin couldn't do much but try to agree on his mate's optimism. Hoping. "Maybe he doesn't want too much attention today, what if he's relieved work had called him?"

 _"You really think so?"_ Shachi asked as if making Penguin thinking twice about a stupid theory. _"I mean, yeah... could be, but I'm sure he'd prefer staying at home then though."_

Penguin was still holding his eyes open, not stopping to look at the doors and corridors Law might appear from. His eyes only left for the clock on the wall, acknowledging that it was already five. "Something's concerning him and work might distract him."

Shachi was quiet. He knew too. He let out a tired sigh. _"Should I call Quinn and cancel?"_

"Ah, she won't be happy!"

 _"Dude, what else should we do?! Law has to come and the two can talk later on!"_

People around watched as Penguin jiggled and scratched his head in frustration. "Gaaah, can't we just put the two in a room and not let them out until things are settled?"

 _"We could,"_ said Shachi with laughter. _"But honestly, when he's there, they will talk. They always do. It's basically them. Or Quinn..."_

Penguin was ready to respond to that one, but his sight caught soon on Law approaching him and he hung up with a swift, "he's there, call ya back."

On his feet, he smiled towards the guy in sanitary clothes. "Yo, Cap! How's it going?"

"Sorry, couldn't make it faster; emergency."

Penguin shook his head with a smile. "All cool, hope it went well," said he and Law approved with a nod. "So, does it mean you're free now?"

"Unfortunately not. Schedule changed and it'll be rather busy for the next few hours."

"Whaaaat? They can't do that."

"It's nothing new, Penguin," Law said, seeming unaffected by it. He had spoken it like an unemotional fact, but was there anyone to blame? He had committed to that responsibility the moment he signed up for this job, and his job was not just any job.

"You're right," Penguin said, hanging his shoulder with a disappointed look to the ground. "Thought we just could've more than a few hours at the bar this year. You know, just making it a guys-night like usual, but with a fancy day out."

"Just us three?" Law arched a brow in suspicion.

"Yeah well, of course! It's a tradition, not?" When his brow was still perked over his eye, glaring at his face without a sound, Penguin's gaze went aside. "Weeell, and even it's just the casual night in the bar after work, we'd be still happy!"

"Even when it falls after midnight?" Law asked with no change in his expression and it quickly felt like a cautious interrogation.

"Yes...! It'll be Sunday then, we can stay up all night and get drunk like we always do! I mean, Shach' and me... Anyway, I'm sure they owe you the free Sunday!"

Law's pager chimed and Penguin watched him, almost sweating, as he was checking the message.

"Fine," said Law and his friend's body loosened from its tension, big relieved eyes gleaming. "I'll be at the bar. Gotta go now."

"Great!" Penguin said and shouted after Law as he walked from the spot. "Text me when you're done here!"

* * *

Law couldn't believe that Penguin had actually returned and waited for him at the hospital. The two drove off in his car to pick up Shachi at his shop first before they allegedly aimed Milo's bar. It was like they weren't even trying to keep any surprise party secret from him.

Shachi was standing in front of his closed shop and entered the car, blatant with his outstanding good mood. "Sorry, guys, but we have to head to Judy's first. I forgot I've given her the keys yesterday and she also forgot to return them."

As he had thought: like they weren't even trying.

"Geez, Shach', it's already late and you make it even later!" Penguin complained.

"Hey, it's only ten, not that late."

Law's car moved again and he made a swift check on the redhead in the backseat. "Ever thought of getting a car yourself?"

"Of course, I did! But car's are expensive, I could decide to invest in my dream or a car."

"Couldn't Penguin just pick you up and we'd meet at the bar?"

"Oh Law, we're saving money this way." Penguin smiled forward, the spirit he held different to hours before; more confident.

Knowing what they were kind of up to, Law did hard not to crease his lips to even the tiniest smile. He was amused; the whole situation, their bad acting, the obvious behavior amused him.

Shachi leaned a little forward. "Hey, you sold your old car to a coworker, right?"

"Yes."

"How much again?"

"Too much for you even in used states."

Shachi pushed his shoulder a little. "Did you just judge my finances?"

"Well, it was a good car," Penguin said with a chuckle, "how should you afford it then when you can't even now."

"It's alright, I'm sorry I don't have an income like," Shachi squint at Law, "some other people showing it off with expensive cars!"

The two laughed and Law finally gave in a small lift of his mouth corners over the mirth in his car.

...

In front of their destination, Shachi hopped off and told them he'll be back soon. Law already wondered how they planned to get him up there when it was just 'getting the keys from Judy's'. The light shone through the two big windows in her room, but Quinn's light next to it appeared off, even perceptible through the closed curtains.

"What do you think?"

Law looked at Penguin who was staring out of the window at the entrance door of the apartment building. "Think of what?"

"Shachi's future." He leaned back to his seat. "You think he'll get the girl he wants?"

"Are you speaking high-and-mighty because you have someone now?"

"That's exactly what I'm doing, Law." Penguin giggled. "Now seriously, I think he's way too much on the defensive."

"That means?"

"Thaaat meeeeans..." Penguin tilted his face over to him, still carrying a smile, though not as bright as before but rather supple. "The girl he wants needs someone being on the offensive."

Silence.

Law could look only moments later away, in the other direction, keeping his calm demeanor that he feared to radiate obvious discomfort.

Penguin knew. He knew exactly what was going on and for god's sake, Law shouldn't be surprised.

When Shachi was away longer than ten minutes, Penguin yawned at his phone screen. "He's not replying, I'll get inside and see what takes him so long. Be right back."

He left the car peacefully, Law looking after him as he disappeared into the building as well. And there he was in his desired tranquility, along with the decision to leave or play their game with them.

Nothing existed to feel that anxious about, he had that situation often enough to know how Quinn's mind worked.

Yes, that was the problem. He knew she would declare them 'just good friends', her insecure behavior at the hospital had already meant to say that but for any reason didn't. And now she had enough time to courage herself to do so. On his fucking birthday.

As Law checked the time again, another ten minutes had passed and he sighed, closing his eyes. _You gotta be kidding me,_ he thought. Even when he called, none of them picked up their phones, so Law knew exactly what he ought to do.

He stepped out of the car, locked it and forced his legs over to the building. The entrance reacted quickly compared to the unanswered phone calls and law walked inside with a chunk in his throat as if he was up to a life-changing battle. That must have been what average people felt before walking into a job interview - the delight of getting the chance, the hope for the good and the anxiety of it to even happen.

The door to the apartment was not fully closed, a small dark gap peeped at him as he stepped off the stairs. When he would go inside, how would his face be? Where should he look? How should he face her?

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" flew into his face with a sudden switch of the light, the noise of party horns and a loud bust from the confetti shooter. The apartment was dunked in color, balloons were lying on the floor and hovered right beneath the ceiling.

Law didn't say a word but stared tight-lipped around with his brows minimally curled.

"Are you surprised?" Penguin asked, hanging his arm around his neck, laughing in joy.

Judy walked up to him. "I dare you to say no."

"I think he's frozen." Shachi waved in front of his petrified face. "Law? You there?"

"Oh come on, as if you were that surprised," Judy threw in with half-lidded eyes, hands to her hips. "I already knew it won't work when Shachi came with the key idea."

"Hey! At least I had an idea!"

The two started to banter somewhere out of Law's perception field and Penguin who still had his arm slung around, whispered to him, "aw man, at least tell Quinn you were surprised. She went crazy to organize this." Law's eyes shifted to him and Penguin let go. "Uhm, she's-"

"No-no-no-no-no!" Quinn's voice sounded right behind him, made everyone staring at the entrance door. "I've missed it!"

She put down the wrapped package in her hands and looked into the round with mouth corners sunken exaggeratedly deep. "Was he surprised?"

"Yeah Law, were you surprised?" Penguin asked out loud, which was unintently enough for her to know that he wasn't.

She moaned to the ceiling. "I knew Shachi's key idea was too obvious!"

"Hey! At least I had an idea!" he repeated, each word underscored.

Penguin and Judy laughed while Quinn took off her coat and shoes. She walked up to Law with a smile, brows still knitted together. "I'm sorry, I really wanted to surprise you." She hugged the muted guy that had no clue how to react to that gesture. "Happy 26th birthday, Law."

Stepping back from him, looking up into his face with her hope fainting slowly, Law still couldn't bring out a word. But it was easier than he thought, to face her, but with each second he noticed the worry in her expression about things not going well with him.

"Law?" her voice sneaked into his ears and he opened his mouth in an attempt to reply.

When it took longer and everyone was just staring, Judy reminded them of the cake as if there was a new chance to surprise him. Like an unorganized mob, they turned the lights off, and in the living room, he saw two candle lights flickering, waiting for him to come over.

Quinn grabbed his wrist, his eyes swiftly darting down to them when he didn't move, and she led him to the kitchen table. She was first to sing Happy Birthday with the rest attaching their voices a second later.

There he stood, staring at a weird artsy cake that looked like a shrunk bald and naked human without genitals and an open body on an operating table. Two candles that formed '26' stuck in his forehead. He got to say it was exquisite work.

Quinn let go of him.

"Make a wish and blow the candles!" one of the guys called in the back.

Law looked at them, then at the cake and his eyes stopped at Quinn one more.

"Remember Harry Dillan's funeral?" she said. "The brain cake."

"Quinn had been planning this ever since you came back from that feast," Judy told. "She commissioned it months ago, so I dare you not to like that gross taste of yours."

Law felt the anticipation in the room, how everyone was waiting for a reaction more than his silence. He hadn't said a word since he entered, and judging by the worries on their faces, he knew what each of them was thinking at the moment.

Shachi and Penguin would blame themselves that they had agreed with this party, saying stuff like they knew he wasn't the type for this attention, especially not for cake. Judy would give up on him completely, being mad that he was so ungrateful. And Quinn... Quinn would be devastated. She wouldn't enjoy any of the food and sweets lying around, not the colorful cake pops and cupcakes that resonated her style; not the alluring food Judy had cooked; not the snacks the guys had brought; not even that expensive cake; she would feel stupid to even had thought of a surprise party and she would break her head over this day continuously.

But this all, Law stopped it from happening. His eyebrows were still tensed like those of a sad person, but his lips pulled tight, each end of his mouth lifting enough to identify some positive response that all of them received and let their eyes sparkle in disbelief.

"I-is he smiling?" Shachi said, gazing at Law's face more precisely.

Judy's gaze didn't let go of him either and both her brows rose with her eyes. "Holy shit, can someone catch that on camera?"

Yes, Law was used to the bunch exaggerating a little on his behavior, but this time he knew himself that this smile, this was something he kept hidden only for very special ones. Even when he knew there was this surprise party, one that did not surprise him at all; even when his worry of Quinn overshadowed most in his head; the moment he realized their effort for him, no matter how chaotic they were, it felt nice to retrieve it. He appreciated every bit of their care.

"Thank you," he said, the anxiety of his calmed. He leaned forward and blew out the candles, the bunch clapping.

Quinn tumbled backward until her back hit the wall which she slid down to sit on the floor. Her torso deflated with utter relief. "Geez, Doc, why you make us that anxious?"

He looked at her. "Sorry, was fun to watch your faces."

"Sadist!" Penguin yelled, laughing.

Quinn smiled. "I hate you, don't ever expect us to throw another party for you."

Law's eyes returned to the cake while a sly smile accompanied him. "Don't worry. You're so predictable, I'd know when and when not to expect something like that."

"Oh I'm sorry, SherLaw Holmes!" She got up, Law's head turned to her. "If you're so smart, you can surely tell what I'm going to do next."

"Getting a knife for the cake."

"Exactly!" Quinn said in mock-defiance and walked to the kitchen drawer to get the kitchen utensil out. "God, can't even act like he's surprised!"

"Well, the cake did surprise me," he claimed and added a mocking, "good job, Peanut."

"It did, don't lie!"

"That's what I've said."

"But you've said it like it didn't."

"This is up to your interpretation."

Quinn half-lidded her eyes. "Touché." She handed him the knife. "Well, birthday kid, you got the first cut."

Shachi was holding his phone to film the moment while the others joked about giving him a scalpel or any other medical instrument to cut that cake.

When Law decided where to cut, he was stopped by Quinn's panic. "Not right in the face..."

His brow rose over his lazy gaze at her and soon he changed position to cut somewhere else.

But Quinn panicked again. "Wait wait wait! Don't chop like that, make a normal cut."

"Quinn, it's just a cake," Penguin reminded with a chuckle.

"But it looks so real! What if it's some miniature human disguised as a cake?"

"Chop it, Law!" Judy shouted and Law aimed for another spot then.

"Not the knees...!" Quinn interfered again, both hands up. "Who the hell chops the knees?!"

"I'm an excellent doctor, what do you fear?"

"You want more anesthesia?" Shachi joked.

"Sorry, I'm just─" Quinn stirred as Law had swung the knife to chop off the head in one loud cut.

"Done."

"So gentle," she said and the others cheered.

The rest of the night went more relaxing than he had expected. Yes, most of the time he did not participate in their games like Pictionary or whatever card game, but he was fine watching them having fun. For charade, he refused to make himself look like a fool, but didn't bother much to guess what the others' tried to mimic. Sometimes it looked so silly, he absolutely had no clue what they were trying to show, causing enough waves of laughter.

Talking to Quinn was not as bad either. A little sparse compared to usual, but not so awkward. Rather almost as if nothing between them ever happened, like she had wished it to be. They did come up with the alcohol topic and she did remind him of the horrible beach night.

"So, drunk now?"

And she did try to provoke a drunk Law.

She had settled on the chair beside him at the kitchen table after losing against the others first in the card game they were playing at the lounge table.

Law looked into his champagne glass, swayed the liquid a little with satisfaction. "Keep wishing."

Her hands clasped over the back of the chair, her cheeks resting on them while looking at him. "I wonder what a super drunk Law would be like."

"What do you wish? Imagine I'll go fun and crazy?"

"Hmm... maybe I'm hoping this. Maybe you'd become even more serious instead, like... annoyingly serious."

He leaned his face to his hand too that hung over the back of his chair, smirking at her. "Too bad that my uptight ass's not fun enough for you."

She shook her head a little. "Didn't say that. Just wanna see you more smiling." His slightly jolted eyes stopped him from responding and Quinn giggled seeing the shy reaction. "Lawdorable. As always."

Law straightened from his chair again, not looking into her eyes. "How's your health doing?"

"It's doing great I guess, can't complain at the moment," she said, lifting her torso back up as well. "I think I'll start working out lightly next week."

"It's getting colder and darker in the morning, you should consider doing so after work."

Quinn leaned her head back as far as she could. "But I'm sooo tired after work."

"Right, then nevermind." He emptied his glass and put it down. "You won't be tired when you're dead."

Her brows moved as if he had said something silly. "Huh? Dead?"

His matter-of-fact face returned. "Dark. Empty streets. Lonely woman. Dangerous."

"Why are guys so paranoid? I've been doing this for years, I'm still alive."

"I'm just saying. You've never been kidnapped before as well and it did happen."

"God can't hate me that much, can he? Also, don't forget, I'm very good at running away!"

"'Working out _lightly_ '," he quoted her.

She rolled her eyes with a smile. "I surely won't die from a swift run."

Law exhaled. "I'm just saying to be more careful."

Quinn widened her happy expression as she got up, stretching her body with both arms straight up. "Weeell, I appreciate your care, so thank you very much, Law Trafalgar. I'll try to be more careful." She grabbed another piece of cake and waddled back to the others when an additional thought halted her. "Did you hear about the kidnapping at my school?"

He raised a brow for a 'no'.

Quinn grinned. "Anyway, it's okay though, the kid woke up."

Laughing, she got away, leaving him charmed, his chest raising as he took a deep breath.

Later the night, the bunch told how much trouble it was to find presents for him. They didn't know what he could make use of; what he never thought of buying himself; what he would like or hate. So their best idea was to throw their money together, buying him something of more quality what ended with a precious watch with a dark leather band and subtle gold ornament. Even though he had wished nothing, he was grateful for it and certain about wearing it.

But Quinn had declined the idea. Quinn just went fully Quinn again he thought when he heard it, and he liked it.

"Well..." Her eyes drifted aside while her index finger poked her own cheek nonstop. "Sorry, I can't compete with something so fancy." In her hand was the wrapped box she had brought in at the beginning of the party. "I had the option to join the others and I thought their idea was great! But somehow, I dunno, I like doing small random gifts, and-and-and, I'm sorry when you don't like it─"

"Peanut."

"But it didn't seem to have bothered back then, so I thought it was okay!"

"Peanut."

"Sorry, I'm just a little worried, because there were cases of people who were very disappointed since it was not just any day, but their birthday─"

"Peanut."

"But yes, you're not that shallow! You don't even expect any presents, sooo..."

"Peanut."

"You can throw it into the garbage later, but do it when I'm not there!"

"Pea─"

She handed him the polka dotted box with a big yellow bow on it in a jerk. "Happy birthday...!"

Quinn bared her teeth with a simper.

"It's alright," Law said. "I like your clutter of small things."

She blushed. "Now I feel stupid."

"You are."

"Wooh, stupid Quinny!" Judy cheered from the side, obviously drunk. "I hope you've packed him a bunch of worn panties!"

"Ew, Judy, that's gross," Quinn said and Judy laughed and hung her arm around Shachi, pulling his red face closer.

"Would you find it gross, Shach' Boy?" she asked with a seductive smirk and he didn't know what to answer.

Law opened the box to be surprised by a confetti bomb first, the dozen paper snippets shooting into his face. He wiped some off while the others found joy in what they saw. The rest was like he had expected: a clutter of stuff she liked and associated with him. There was a package of tissues with tiny stethoscope and syringe prints (who even produced that?); band-aids with ice bear prints (for kids?); stickers; salt and pepper strayer in shape of one onigiri when you put them together; and lots of other bits and pieces. When he thought it ended there, he found a golden metallic fabric rolled together and fixed with a black ribbon. As he loosened it and let it roll out by a drop, he was holding a golden tie with a delicate pattern in his hand.

Quinn smiled at him. "Surprise, I thought that would go well with the watch."

...

Three in the morning and the apartment was chaotic and still. Shachi was snoring on the couch and Penguin had fallen asleep on the floor. In her room, Judy was also lying fully dressed on her stomach, and slept with occasional moans regarding her dizziness and headache.

Quinn yawned into her hand as she stood with Law in the middle of the living room. "That'll be a great Lazy Sunday tomorrow. Cleaning to no end."

"I'll leave now, you can drop the two with the bus tomorrow," Law said. "If you need help with clea─"

"What do you mean you'll leave now?" She looked at him with no comprehensibility.

"It's la-"

"Firstly, you've drunk; secondly, yeah, late, you're tired, so you're gonna stay here."

He smiled slyly. "Wanna ditch me on the floor too?"

"Would love to, but unfortunately my moral code says, don't ditch the birthday kid on the ground." Quinn walked towards her room. "You can sleep in my room, I'll join Judy."

He followed her, entering the hybrid of tiny atelier and tiny bedroom. Quinn knelt on her rosy colored bedsheets, throwing additional pillows down to make space. "The bedsheets are fresh, so don't worry about any Quinn bacteria."

"Right, because they're the worst," he deadpanned. Sitting down on her single bed, accepting the idea quickly, he soon perceived the smell of marshmallows. "I thought you dropped your marshmallow collection?"

"I..." She giggled sheepishly. "Love it too much and thought I shouldn't let Sabo define this scent for me." Feeling reprehensible, she looked at Law in wait of an agreement. "I mean, if we would separate in a bad way, and I wouldn't be allergic to nuts, I'd still eat peanuts!"

"If you say so," was his only response, rather disapproving.

"Aw come on," Quinn said, "it was just a nickname. I mean, what is Peanut? I'm actually totally anti-peanut, that makes no sense!"

He chuckled. "I was just kidding, Marshmallow."

Quinn dropped her eyelids. "Ha-ha, very funny. You know, I find Marshmallow cuter than Peanut."

Law lied down on his back. "Fine, it's Marshmallow then. Hope you're happy, Marshmallow."

"Stop that."

"Just doing what you like."

"I didn't ask for that!" She grabbed a small pillow and hit his chest what he then blocked with his hands, still looking amused.

"It's alright, I'm fine with Marshmallow."

Quinn hit again. "Staaahp."

"Yeah, stop being so vulgar, Marshmallow."

He blocked another hit. "Say Peanut!" He laughed when she hit him again. "Go! Say Peanut!"

Law rolled to the side. "Don't tell me what to do, Marshmallow."

"It's Peanut!" Quinn shouted and aimed for another hit, moving with her knees closer to him. Law fixed the pillow in his grip and she didn't want to let go either, leaning down to him with half of her body weight and narrowed eyes. "Say it now, say 'Peanut'."

He smirked. "Peanut."

She blushed and realized only then in what close position she was and backed off. "That's right, for you it's just Peanut," said she, looking away.

"So, that counts as first and last name too? Peanut Peanut?"

"I think you're drunk."

"Wouldn't that be what you wanted?"

"Yeah..." Quinn got up again and exhaled loudly. "Man, I can't even throw another surprise party next year, you'll know too."

"Will I?" said he, watching her walking up to her desk. "Are you already that boring? Not able to surprise me anymore?"

"Come on, the tie did surprise you, and you've said the cake did too." She opened her full drawer and pulled out an already used set of stickers with a few left pieces before she perched back next to him.

"The cocktail did too."

Her eyes beamed. "You knew?"

"As if I don't remember the first drink I've ever bought you." His face expressed slight nostalgia before it moved to watch her peeling one sticker off.

"Then you might remember this too." He stood still when she stuck the glittering and colorful plastic to his face.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked her calmly and she stuck another to his face.

"Making you Lawdorable again."

One was now on his left cheek, two on his right, one on his forehead and a tiny one on his nose tip.

"Ta-dah." She got up to get her polaroid camera and a birthday hat for him. When the picture was shot, he didn't flinch, but he also didn't look happy. Quinn surveyed it with one hand touching the side of her face. "How can you be so handsome in such ridiculous and cute shot."

Law pushed himself up and moved his buttocks to have a peek on the polaroid as well.

With a black marker, she wrote 'B-day Boy' on the white frame and grinned at his grim face next to hers. "My favorite so far."

"You're..." His eyes moved from the picture up to her face as well.

"Something else," she finished.

"Ridiculous," he corrected her.

"If that means creating art like this," she held the polaroid up on eye level, "then I'm okay with ridiculous." Mouth corners hoisted, giving her another mischievous look, he leaned closer to her and Quinn's face turned pink. "What are you doing...? Ever heard of discretion? Personal space?"

"From all people, you're the last allowed to talk about discretion, Marshmallow."

"Don't call me..." Not losing her eyes on him, she grabbed the pillow nearby and tried to strike another hit. "...Marshmallow!" Law dodged it, holding her arm and Quinn dropped the pillow as she stared at his face tilting closer to her lips with a cheeky smile. "You're not gonna..."

"I am."

Quinn's mouth parted for a statement but was interrupted by his lips. She closed her eyes and didn't hesitate to kiss back, the polaroid falling from her hand to the ground as he wrapped his other hand around her free wrist. And that kiss lasted much longer as if there was no end to it and the two sank together to bed, Law pinning her down on the mattress.

As her heart pounded, her legs became weak and nothing in the world would stop her from enjoying the pleasure they shared with each other at that moment. The lips she felt upon hers moved gently, tasting the sweet placebo between them. Law drew back, his face still close enough to feel his breath against her and she peeked slowly, asking him not to stop.

Law merged her hands beneath her head as he went after her wish, fixing those small wrists with one hand while the other moved away.

Quinn noticed that he was focusing on something else then, seeming to palpate the mattress. As he leaned back he opened the black marker between his teeth, her hands still in his grip.

"Oh no..." she said.

A wide sly smile was on his face. "Oh yes."

He started to write something on her head and Quinn couldn't flinch, wanting to spare herself from random strokes all over her face. "I haaaate you."

When he finished, he closed the marker and marveled at her forehead. "Beautiful."

Quinn fidgetted, trying to get off his grip. He grabbed the polaroid camera and looked back into her face, leaned down and pecked her lips before he let go to take a shot. She stayed still with her lower lip hanging out, looking defeated.

When he waited on the other end of the bed for the picture to develop, Quinn sluggishly pushed herself up. Soon she was trying to get in possession of the picture, but Law succeeded in keeping it away from her, his arm stretched as far as possible.

He looked at the developed picture amused and got up. "Sorry, Miss Heady, but this is confidential."

Up as well, she still wrung for it, jumping. "Yes, and that's why I should have it."

Law wrapped his free arm around her waist and shifted her toward the door.

"Urgh, that's not fair," she grumbled as he put her out of the room and closed it in front of her nose.

"Good night," she heard him saying with ease and the click of the key locking her out.

"Oh you pervert!" she complained loudly but shut her mouth in a twitch when remembering how everyone else was sleeping. She tried to dim her voice, knocking a lot, but quietly, on the door. "Open up! That's my room after all! What are you doing in there? Hey, douchebag. Don't be such a pervert! What are you doing? Jerking off to that? Hey! Laaaaaw."

Law was relaxing quietly on her bed, looking at the picture that he held up to the ceiling. When he heard her leaving, he gave her less than 30 seconds to come back and complain about the word 'idiot' written with capital letters on her forehead.

That night no one had gone to declare them 'just good friends'.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** urgh, hate how I couldn't update according to our timeline. But hey, they're well into October, maybe I can catch up (I promise nothing)?_


	57. Potholes

**57\. Potholes**

Quinn belonged to the minority of people that liked going to work. As an elementary school teacher, she thought there was nothing purer than children who had a future not determined with mistakes yet. They gave her the daily dose of positivity, and her summer holidays including her hospitalization led her to miss school for about two months. Returning and receiving a joyful welcome from her students was great.

In a notebook, she jotted down school relevant information about her classes and students; something she was also doing at that moment, figuring the curriculum of the trimester. She was neatly writing her plans down, her notebook leaned against her angled legs when a jerky movement interrupted her flow. "Gaaah, what was that?"

"Pothole," Law said on the driver seat.

"Couldn't you drive around it?"

"The road here's full with them."

"Great," she said and held the notebook up, eyeing the content from the distance her arms allowed, "my perfect writing's now crippled."

"Why you work on that now anyway?" Law asked, not getting his eyes off the dark highway, "should've done it the day before."

"Yesterday I was doing another class's work." Quinn pursed her lips with half-lidded eyes, grumbling to the other side where she stared at Law's reflection in the car window, "stupid people... underestimating a teacher's work when they don't know how much time it consumes..."

"Don't talk about time-consuming with me."

She turned to him. "But your work's rather active! When I get home, I need to continue mine!"

"Kind reminder that my work's beyond performing surgery."

"Aha? Diagnosing people, isn't that even easier than surgery?"

He threw her a swift glance, as dry as the desert and enough to dispel her assumption.

"Ah right, you're not good with people and empathy. Must be harder then."

"Peanut. Do I really need to explain my job to you?"

"You're a doctor promoted way too fast into a head position. Could it be that you got promoted again recently? Like, before you were just a senior, right? Now you're head. That would explain your busy schedule?"

"Peanut."

"Okay, okay! I dunno what else you do." As Law returned to his quietness, Quinn's eyes circled in space. "That was an indirect request to defend your position in this fight and explain your job to me."

"Now we're fighting?" he asked with a brow rose, slightly mocking.

"Not a _fight-_ fight; you know what I mean!"

"As a head physician, you're responsible for certain departments in the hospital. In my case, I'm managing the surgery department. There're days I'm in the operating theater myself hours long, other days I'm just in the office."

"Oh."

"We've got a big lack of doctors at the moment, hence I put myself into charge quite often. Nonetheless, I can't always decide when to work. There're higher administrative positions; I plainly tell the others what to do and where to do their shifts and analyze the patients' health issues, sharing them with the team."

Hearing Quinn not responding, he checked on her and was rather confused when she was staring with a face he wasn't sure how to translate. The spot between her brows was knitted tightly, her mouth corners set deep and her eyes shimmering as if she was about to cry.

...In admiration?

"You're such a good person!"

"Don't talk nonsense," Law grumbled.

"Maybe you're not the kindest, but you're so aware of your responsibilities! That's admirable!"

A slight brush bruised over his cheeks. "Stop that."

"Also, you're an internist!"

"Only under circumstances."

"Nonetheless!"

"Peanut..."

"Cute! Cute! Cute! Cute!" Quinn was holding back her squeal.

Despite the pink cheeks, he groaned, "oi, you're annoying right now."

"But that explains why you're such an overworked and frustrated figure in this world."

"I'm not frustrated."

"So frustrated."

"Just tired."

"Super frustrated."

"Shut up already!"

"So Lawdorable." Quinn giggled and with a low sigh, he rolled his eyes. "But still, do you have to sort over 100 names to faces and remember their performance? No! You look into the file and everything's written there. And every year it feels like there are another 100 new..."

"Do you still wanna argue with me how demanding my job is?" His intonation was flat, but also a whit victorious.

Not wanting her clear defeat, she avoided a renunciation and crossed her arms. "...Just saying you should've avoided the pothole."

"Blame the government for not using our taxes to fill them."

"Grr, stupid government."

Law glimpsed at the GPS. "10-15 minutes max. until we arrive"

"Nice, I'll text Koala." Quinn pulled her cellphone out and messaged said girl with a smile before she restored it in her handbag including the notebook. "Rest I'll do on the way back."

Law didn't keep the conversation going, but neither did she. Instead, Quinn was staring at the road just like him, keeping a neutral face. It was around four in the morning and she didn't seem tired at all, but the closer the ride was coming to an end, the more agitated she appeared.

He didn't want to comment on what he saw from the corner of his eye, but she noticed his glance. "I'm just anxious, nevermind me."

"You don't have to talk to him. In fact, you didn't have to come at all."

"But I wanna say Ace goodbye before he disappears for another year. So I'm fine with Sabo being there too." She took a deep but quiet breath, trying to smile after exhaling it. "I'll just blend him out, can't be that hard! He's always spaced out too anyway, maybe he'll ignore me too?"

"I doubt that."

"Who knows, just saying. After our breakup, I must've become a ghost to him tehe..."

"Don't whine later when it was awkward and uncomfortable."

Quinn tried to stay optimistic, her smile forward becoming more sincere. "Aye aye, Captain. Hm, I should get something to eat when I'm there. Hey, can you get me something to eat while I'm with the others?"

"You're asking for too much."

"Pleaaaase? I haven't had breakfast yet and I'm sure you've neither."

...

In front of the airport was a mediocre sized parking lot with a handful of cars including few cabs waiting for customers. The building was rather small and Law wondered if he would find anything to eat around that time. They had passed a gas station with the lights on before, just around the corner, thus he assumed a shop that should have open.

Quinn rummaged her wallet for cash and pulled out a bill. "Here's the money for food, and buy whatever you want with the rest as gratitude for giving me this ride."

"Peanut," said Law calmly.

"Hm?"

"It's alright, keep your money."

"Huuuh? Nooo, take it."

"Just go."

She stayed quiet for a moment, thinking before accepting. "Alright..., thanks."

"You shall be back in an hour before morning rush hour starts," he said while she was getting off the car.

"Don't worry, don't wanna be late for work too." Quinn closed the door and walked off but stopped not even half a meter away. She returned to open the door again. "Oh and Law." He looked at her, unsure what she missed to say. "I want a smoothie if you find some, but those without extra sugar, okay? Thank youuu, you're the best!"

* * *

Since the airport was nearly deserted around this time, spotting Ace and the others was a quick goal. Not far from the entrance, a small bundle was waiting and she took a deep breath, lips tightened when she identified Sabo among them. Her steps slowed down when she walked towards them, hands slightly sweating. He was sitting on a bench, someone who must have been Luffy lying with his head on one of his thighs while Koala sat beside, Ace standing.

Their heads turned when she came closer and was welcomed by Koala's bright smile. "Quiiiiinn," said she and hugged her tightly the way one hadn't seen each other in years, "how are you?"

Ace lifted a hand as he greeted her as well. "You aight? Glad to see you off the hospital."

"Yeah, I'm actually doing pretty good," Quinn said, nodding.

Koala looked at her and let go, mouth slightly upturned. "We were so worried, I wished I could've visited you more times, but I was so busy. I'm so sorry!"

"Nah, it's totally alright. With the other two times Ace visited me alone, I received your get well messages," Quinn said. She turned to Ace with her fist flexed in the air. "Anyway! Ready to fly?"

"Kinda miss traveling, kinda wanna stay a little longer though."

She chuckled. "Understandable." Although Quinn had attempted to ignore Sabo, Luffy's attendance thwarted her plan. She couldn't help looking over to him to comment on the sleeping boy.

It was not just her but Sabo as well that handled the situation with timidity. "Hey."

"Hi," she said, returning the mousy smile. "Didn't know you'd bring Luffy, I mean, he has school in a few hours."

"He wanted to come so badly, I guess sleeping here makes it easier for him than sleeping away from Ace."

As Koala saw her nodding as a forceful response, her words jumped in-between. "Quinn, have you eaten already?"

It took her no second to absorb the question, tilting her head to Koala in relief. "Uhm, I'm with Law here, think he's getting me something while I'm here."

Time flew by then, the little bunch having light-hearted conversations about their everyday lives and amusing past occasions from childhood to adulthood. Whenever Quinn caught herself feeling awkward around Sabo, she told herself everything was cool, they barely talked. In overall they avoided eye contact and only held those out of courtesy. Ace and Koala aimed to keep the situation cool but awarely tried to have both's indisposition in mind and obviated their interaction going too deep.

Nevertheless, for Quinn, it went better than she had expected. What she had surmised about herself was wrong.

She thought she wouldn't be able to handle her emotions completely; she thought the close cracks in her heart would start to break open even only a tiny bit; she thought even the notion of them as a successful couple would return; that she had done something wrong ─ no matter how trivial it seemed first ─ thus would fault herself for the bad outcome.

She had been worrying about turning gloomy again seeing him, or even distressed, but instead, it left her with something else, something she couldn't quite describe to herself. It wasn't sadness over the things that had happened in the past but sadness over the things that have resulted from it.

She looked at herself in the restroom mirror, wondering how much power she actually had over her life, over the situation she had put herself in. Quinn had been through several heartbreaks, through so much disappointment; every time she looked at her own reflection, all she saw was a desperate young woman that wondered why she couldn't locate any gray hair in her dark blonde roots yet from all the stress she had gone through.

But today, something was different. Today her reflection told her it was alright; that she had moved on; that the leftover, which haunted her, was something she could cast out.

"Quinn, wait," she heard Sabo behind her after she had left the restroom. Staring at him, her heart was half at ease, half anxious, and their faces were probably looking the same at this moment. "Can we talk?"

Her mouth corners moved up to a strained smile not reaching her eyes, and she nodded as if she knew that was the moment to put an end to the ghost that had haunted her all those months.

They were away from the others, standing somewhere in a solitary corner of the still empty airport. Quinn was leaning against the wall, her hands clasped together behind her, awaiting his words.

"First, I heard what happened last month, I'm very glad you're doing well again."

She smiled to the side. "Yeah, tehe..."

His lungs filled. "I wasn't sure if I should've visited you; if it was a bad idea when you'd see me. But I heard you were doing fine then, that eased me."

"Thank you..."

"Quinn," he said and his eyebrows furrowed, "I know I've hurt you."

"Yeah, but─"

"It doesn't matter for what reason. It doesn't matter if intentionally or accidentally. I've hurt you and the reason I did was due to my foolishness. I did everything wrong."

Quinn's view fell to her feet, her tips moving up and down in her boots. "No, I was too invested... I shouldn't have pushed it so fast..."

"Hey," he said, and when she looked back at him, it was like beholding another person; someone more confident, more determined about what he had to say. "I'm not here to play the pious one. I admit I was an arse. Don't put things on your account to make this balanced. You know yourself, you did nothing wrong."

"But I did!" Quinn straightened, surprising him. "Yes, you might've acted like an idiot, but I was kinda dumb and selfish too. Fine you'd a little crush on me and I'd one on you, but I was so into having a boyfriend, that crush was enough for me to finalize my dream. I could've waited, seeing if this was the right decision, but instead... I made use of your feelings and rushed us into this relationship."

"I shouldn't have said yes, let alone had a crush on you in the first place..."

She stepped up to him, her head tilting up when they stood right in front of each other. "Crushes are the most normal thing, they happen while you're single or even when you'd already found the love of your life, and they're temporary. So not only you confused something, I did too."

All she wanted was peace between them; that neither she had a ghost accompanying her in her life nor his. She was sad that this between them had turned to what it was; that two people who meant no harm had to clash; she wanted no excess bad blood.

Quinn hugged him. "Sabo, I forgive you. Forgive me too?"

He looked down upon her, the words sinking in his mind. Her hug stayed as strong as within the first seconds.

"I do when we agree I did worse."

Stepping back to look at him, her hands were still in a reach for a hug. Slowly, his face morphed to smiling, no matter how tense the rest seemed, Quinn was mirroring that smile and her head bobbed up and down rapidly.

She went for another hug and was glad he returned it before she let go, exhaling. "Alright. We're cool now?"

Sabo let out a small timorous laugh. "I hope?"

"Yes, we are! And now tell me!" Puzzled, he questioned her with only his expression. "You and Koala, what's going on?"

His eyes wandered to the side, his smile uneasy. "Well, nothing I guess...?"

"You gotta be kidding, right?" With a stomped towards him, he was compelled to make a step back. "I thought you like each other? All the drama for nothing?"

"Hey, it's not that easy," Sabo slightly stammered. "That drama bears consequences."

Quinn was giving him that terrible face of a sad pug, her mouth turning to a deep bow. "So you two are just ignoring the fact...?"

His voice calmed and his eyes searched for the ground. "I've hurt her just as much, so yeah, it's complicated. I think staying at least friends's the best we can do before things get worse."

"But that's stupid!" He looked back at her and she narrowed her brows. "Why forcing something to be just a 'friendship' when it's obviously not?! You're like... meant to be and you know it!"

Sabo was wearing a weak smile. "You make it sound so easy."

"I know it's not, but, but─ but at least try," she said, "I-I can help if you want! So much happened, don't let the past influence your future so much..."

His smile altered to a more solid one. "I'm glad we've solved this between us."

* * *

Law was lucky the gas station had its shop open 24/7. He could grab Quinn a smoothie and bagel while he personally went for hot (cheap) coffee and a small cup yogurt with oatmeal and small fruits. While he was waiting in the car for her to return (and already had had his breakfast), he skimmed through a little work on his laptop. The car was quiet and filled only by the tapping sound when he occasionally hit the keyboard. On the passenger seat, he had put Quinn's breakfast that was waiting for her as well.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw how she was coming closer to the car as she walked through the darkness and passed the yellowish lights of the tall street lamps. He turned off his laptop and put it back in his bag, which he placed on the seat behind.

Quinn's face was blank when she opened the car door and got down to take her seat. He pulled her breakfast away the moment he realized she wasn't noticing it but handled the situation like a dull robot. "Oi."

"He's no longer an enemy," said she, still staring ahead with no blink, "I found my peace."

"Good news, I guess."

"Do you think I made a mistake?" asked she and her detached face made a 180-degree turn, her hands gesticulating in every possible way, "I mean, yes, I haven't seen him for quite a while, but it's not thaaaat long ago. Maybe I should've waited? Or is that stupid? Does it make sense? Sometimes exes bump into each other for peace only years later! Maybe I- but wait, our relationship wasn't thaaaat long, so not thaaaaat serious, right? So it's okay, I guess? I mean, if you take the ratio of how long a relationship was and how long it takes for them to meet again, my timing made sense. I mean─"

"Quinn."

"Urgh I'm sorry, I'm talking too much again, right?" She leaned back and inhaled to her limit before she let out all the breath, clapping on her thighs. "Okay, I'll shut up now! Right now. Yap. Aaaand: now."

"No one can tell you if it was the right time or not," said Law, "only you can tell."

"Then I am." She motioned her fist to her chest, brows narrowed with a clean nod. "Yes, I'm officially single again!"

"You were all long."

"I mean, yes! I was, but like, my mind's now single too! Not like Sabo still concerned me all those months, more like, there was unfinished business!"

"Your breakfast."

She looked at the paper bag and small smoothie bottle he was holding towards her, a bright smile lifting her face. "Ah, right! Thanks!"

After fastening his seatbelt, Law started the engine.

Quinn fastened her seatbelt too. "When d'you have to work?"

"Shift starts in the afternoon."

"Ah, cool cool. Means you've time to relax when you're back home." She opened the paper bag and pulled out her bagel, smiling at the cream cheese filled ring. "Say, what d'you even do during a time like that?"

"Paperwork, sleep, workout, stuff like that," he told her while focusing on the street.

"Hm, I see. Not much going on in your life, huh?"

"Too much going on," he corrected her.

"Say, have you ever thought of ending this bachelor life?"

"No."

"No as in I haven't thought of it, or no as in I'll stay like this forever?"

He peered over to her, seeing her eating her breakfast with ease and delight. "Why you asking?"

Quinn's eyes shifted from corner to corner as if his question was weird, if not stupid. "Because that's how a conversation goes between friends? I'm interested in their life, they're in mine?"

"I'd prefer you to stay uninterested then."

"Huuuh, c'mon. It was just a normal question!"

"And I don't consent with this."

"Fiiiine." She took her last bites and crumpled the trash to stow it in her bag. "Will never talk with you about stuff like this again," she added and tilted her body to the other side, opening her smoothie bottle. Law didn't answer, so she emphasized, "like never. Maybe never about anything with you."

"Pothole."

The car jerked.

"Argh! I hate the government!" Quinn groaned but still received no response from him even after a minute so that she turned her body back at him. "Staaaahp ignoring me!"

"Thought you'll never talk to me again?"

"I never said that, I've said 'never about anything.'"

"Like potholes," he said flatly, "big pothole."

As the car jerked again, Quinn spilled some juice over her denim jeans. "Noooo!" With a wet wipe, she was trying to get off the drying beverage on her hand and jeans that started to get sticky, a clear stain staying on the fabric. "I can't go to work like this." Still, Law showed no reaction, no matter how long she was waiting, hence her eyes rolled again and she bumped into her seat in defeat. "Okaaay, I'll take it back, I will talk to you."

Silence.

"I've said, I take it back, so stop ignoring me."

Silence.

"What's with that smirk? Can this smirk also move?"

Silence.

"I told you to talk to me! Now!"

Law's smirk widened, his amused face staying on the street. "I don't like being told what to do."

Her eyelids sank. "Can you please stop ignoring me?"

"Pothole," he warned her again just a second before they drove over it.

"Thank you for communicating this with me!"

"You're welcome."

She narrowed her eyes as she leaned closer, keeping her gawk on him until he freed a hand from the wheel and pushed her head back. "Personal space, Peanut."

"You've no right either to talk about personal space, okay?"

"Sure."

Quinn folded her arms with a loud sigh and stared out of the window on her side. The sky was still dark, the sun going up only in two hours, and few cars were on the road. He could accelerate their speed and the only danger she would consider was a random animal that could run in front of them while passing woodland. Law's car gave her the smoothest right she ever had, it basically glided over the asphalt. Back then she was always distracted from any occurrence whenever she had a chance to sit in this vehicle and complaint that she could never enjoy a ride fully, but nowadays it seemed almost normal.

"Hey, have you ever thought about visiting me at work?"

"Why should I've thought about this at all?"

Quinn shrugged, moving her face to him. "I dunno, maybe because you're showing interest in what I'm doing for money?"

"You're a teacher."

"I mean more precisely. I'd love to visit you during work too!"

"That's a lot to expect from a friend."

Quinn straightened from her seat, her knees tilting back into his direction. "I just had an idea. Most of the time when I've gotta stand-in for another teacher, I like to do P.E. theory with the children. You could come over as the smart doctor and support me for an hour, you know?"

"And teaching a bunch of shit-arse about things they don't really care about anyway?"

"They aren't dumb if you meant that!"

"Funny how an adult tries to teach children about health but disregards her own."

"Hello, I had my surgery if you remember?" She pouted. "I was just asking, could've just said no... Didn't expect you to have time for that anyway."

"I think you're too used to me being nice to you," said he.

"That's not true! It was just an idea," she claimed and when he didn't reply, she puffed her cheeks like a huffy child, mumbling, "Sabo would've said okay..."

"That's good for him."

Noticing his displeased commentary, she giggled. "I was just kiddiiiiing."

"Whyever you compare me to him anyway."

Hushed by his words with a pink tint upon her cheeks, she breathed in clear enough to hear with her mouth corners dropping before her body turned away one more. "I'm sleeping now!"

"Don't lean your head on the window."

"Why, huh? I'll so lean my head─"

The car jerked again when passing another pothole and Quinn bumped her head, her face distorted to silent pain.

"That's why."

* * *

The whole class saw their teacher spaced out. Calling "Miss Heady" several times, she didn't even flinch but sat on the long bench in the gymnasium with eyes frozen in the air.

Only when some figures stepped in front of her view, cutting the bright ceiling light from her face, she reacted. "Huh?" In front of her were Luffy, Nami and Usopp; each of them goggled by her briefly as if they were strangers.

"Sanji's team won, what should we do now?" Nami asked and the three stepped aside, displaying her Zoro's and Sanji's scuffle in the back after a dodge ball match.

Quinn said no word and got up to walk straight over to those kids, settling their wrangle. The other three turned to them, keeping their observation distanced.

"I think she's sick," Usopp said.

"But this morning she was alright," said Luffy, "maybe Torao did something bad to her?"

Nami looked clueless. "Torao?"

With a shiver down his spine, Usopp's voice lowered as he talked like mentioning him was taboo. "Wasn't that the creep from the hospital?"

"Yeah, Sabo said he was with her at the airport when we're saying goodbye to my brother. Is she sad because Ace's gone?"

"No way, I think Torao-creep did something bad to her."

"Are you stupid?" When the two boys turned to Nami's voice, she stood with her hands to her hips and a face as if she was an authority herself. "It's obvious, she's lovesick!"

"Lovesick?" Luffy repeated the ─ for him ─ strange word, his head tilted down to his shoulder.

"Yeah, when you were with Ace, your other brother must've been there too."

"Makes sense," Usopp said, "everyone knows that they had a failed love─ Hello, Miss Heady...!"

Quinn was crouching behind the three, smiling through the small gaps between them. "What are you talking about, hm?"

"School stuff!" Usopp yelled out with a quiver in his voice when it appeared like she had heard them, "you know, I was best at our last grammar test!"

"Liar!" the other kids shouted in unison.

"The lesson's done now. Please help with cleaning up the gym."

It made sense. It made sense that Law liked her. When Quinn thought about it thoroughly, analyzing their every interaction from beginning to present, she couldn't confute that statement. Thinking about it from an external perspective, it seemed plainly obvious, but before she would interpret any more thought, she would want to hear it from him in person.

No matter how long and often she played those thoughts about him back and forward, Quinn always sought an excuse for his actions. Maybe he just saw them as very good friends. Best friends maybe? But for that, he barely talked about his personal struggles. He also didn't hide a certain attraction to her, so friends with benefits? Were they even ever really 'friends'? Wasn't their relationship to each other always a little different? Maybe it was a harmless crush all over again? Crushes happened; it was the most normal thing, even for someone as stoic as him.

She wasn't even sure if she would want him to like her; if she should say something, asking him about it since she couldn't expect him to go up front with it himself. What if there were good reasons for his reticence; no, there certainly were, so perhaps this wasn't her place to be and he thought so too.

"Miss Heady!" Quinn looked down at the direction she heard the voice coming from, staring at Sanji who was holding a tiny wild bouquet of dandelions, daisies, and cosmos in diverse shades and colors as they were walking back to the school building. "I picked you flowers!"

She smiled and took them. "Aww, that's so sweet of you!"

"You looked so sad today, I thought this would cheer you up," said he, "a lady looks best when she's smiling."

"Aww!" She couldn't help but let out a tiny squeal. "Thank you, that's so thoughtful of you!"

* * *

Who takes over today?"

"Chief."

"Indeed," the male surgical nurse said as he checked the schedule on the screen in the operating theatre. "Great, Trafalgar, what a joy." He turned to the assistant doctor who was standing at the operating table preparing the patient. "You sure you did everything correctly? Our doctor won't be pleased if not," said the nurse in slight mockery.

"Don't worry, I check everything twice when working with him," the assistant doctor said, chuckling as he and the anesthetist intubated the narcotized patient. "Especially after last time."

"What was last time?" asked another nurse who was preparing the instruments at the other end of the theater, yelling through her face mask in order to drown the music in the back with her words.

The doctor sighed as he told, "he was assisted by a youngling during an AVR. Guy was a little chaotic and well, doctor was mad."

"I heard it was something personal?" said the anesthetist, "the woman's a friend or something?"

A sarcastic titter left the nurse at the computer. "Right, he got friends too. Wonder what kinda people those are."

The anesthetist sat down on her chair in front of her monitors after she was done with her preparations. "To be honest, I actually like that guy. He's a good doctor, the best in this hospital."

"Being the best doesn't earn my sympathy. Have you seen his fingers? Great doctor."

"Maybe it's something philosophical," the assistant doctor joked, helping the other nurse covering the patient with sterile sheets.

"Well, I wouldn't be happy as a patient. And whoever has this song on, better turns it off before he comes."

"Well, it's work on someone's heart, and then of someone you know, I'd be mad too," said the anesthetist with a slanted smile. "Also I think he's just utterly stressed."

The door to the theater opened and Law entered, having all eyes turned to him in instant silence.

"Afternoon, Chief!" one greeted when no one said anything, only staring as he surveyed the operating table.

"What's this?" asked he and turned to the nurse that was managing the paperwork and computer.

"Tracheal resection."

"The music."

He grabbed the Bluetooth music box and shut the loud trap song down. "Sorry, it's off now."

Law didn't keep the small talk big as they were preparing for the surgery, in fact, he barely said a word while the other chit chatted ─ even if somewhat restrained. They dressed him in a green gown and a double layer of white latex gloves and started to work on the patient with no delay.

Law's surgeries always went quieter than with other doctors. When he talked, he mostly talked about what he was doing to help his assistants learning, but also answered flatly the questions of interns. Every once in a while, the team fell into the hole of slightly personal questions and received an answer rate of 30%.

"How's the woman with the valve stenosis?" his assistant standing across him asked.

"Which one? I had two last month."

The guy, who was visibly older than Law, tried to find help with the anesthetist who had been present during the aforementioned surgery.

"The young blonde, I think...?" said she.

"Doing fine, I heard," Law answered them as an emotionless fact.

When everything turned still again, only the beeping and occasion noising of the anesthetic machines, such as the surgical nurse and Law exchanging instruments, filled the room with sounds, the assistant attempted another ice-breaker. "This is his third surgery already, I think he'll have a fourth in December? Hate December, for odd reasons I'm on the list twice as much?"

"That's because I won't be here mid-December," Law said, clearly showing that nothing had been awkward to him. "So they'll send someone else down and that someone probably works best with you."

Surprised, one asked, "what's with the break? Granting yourself another vacation, Chief?"

"They'll send me into the city. Not enough occupation and they need to work off part of the list before Christmas."

"What? We've less occupation than them, why they always stealing our?"

Law let out a quiet and exhausted sigh. "Bigger city, more patients, greater need."

The anesthetist lifted herself on her toes to look over the cover, watching the procedure of the team while keeping an eye on their head doctor. She saw the tension on her colleagues, the extra prudence of what to say and what to do when being around him. Since she was never scolded personally, she didn't feel the trepidation on the same level or any kind of despise. For her, Law was just a surgeon doing his job right under dispassionate, equitable social circumstances.

She didn't want to be involved with personal problems like the others and always ensure to do her job right and not be in his way babbling too much. Even when he came around for a look through the bronchoscope, she took a big step away and eyed him from a little afar.

"Who came up with the idea of nasal intubation?" Law was asking while he was looking through the viewer of the bronchoscope. It was the first time she caught herself in fear about a mistake she was responsible for, not certain what the situation was about. As he looked at her in assumption but moved soon to his assistant, that one was muzzled about the mistake.

The anesthetist stayed muted as well and soon listened to Law scolding the assistant doctor, who was bearing more responsibility for the right kind of intubation than her. She wasn't sure how problematic it was for the operation, she only understood something was in the way of whatever.

"I can't work like this."

"Should we close and change to oral?"

Law muttered under his breath and returned to the operating table. "No, it's too late."

"We could─"

"It's alright, we make two cuts and pump in-between each," he said, his team listening carefully, "tracheal resection means only oral intubation, remember this."

"Yes. I'm sorry, I didn't think of it."

"It's alright. It's not the best, but manageable."

To their surprise, Law's reaction was calmer than anticipated. He didn't raise his voice but made them feel less awful for not doing something right.

When the operation was about to end after two hours, Law got off the table, stuffing his used gown and gloves into the trash. The rest stayed in their position to suture while he turned to fill out the papers before leaving. "Good job, see you."

His team stared after him and then at each other. It was common that his patience was wearing thin when things didn't go his way, so witnessing him relaxed was always connected to something positive in his life. "I think he was in a good mood?"

* * *

Quinn got home in the late afternoon, her tired legs carrying her upstairs. She wondered if Judy was there since she had the day off, not hearing anything as she stood in front of their entrance door on the pink doormat. The apartment was also quiet when she entered, the hallway passably lightened from the daylight that came from the living-room.

She tripped over a pair of shoes when she was getting rid of her own, but didn't turn back to make the path free. Heading straight into the living-room without her handbag, Quinn halted immediately in shock by the sight of a completely naked man standing in front of her.

"Oh my god..." She turned her back at him, trying to forget what she had seen.

"Hey, you must be Judy's roommate."

"Yes... and you must be a naked man standing in our apartment." The last time she saw a penis live was years ago and this one looked way bigger than her ex's.

The guy chuckled. "I'm─"

"You're still here?" Judy's voice relieving her, "what takes you so long?"

"I thought I'd sit down and have a snack befo─"

"Nope. Told you, you should go."

Quinn's face carefully turned over her shoulder to glimpse at Judy in her red bathrobe as she went out of the bathroom. She walked past Quinn straight into her room and came back with men clothes in her arms, which she handed the guy tartly. He was laughing as he talked, his voice nearing Quinn so that she moved her face immediately back forward.

Passing her then, his naked butt closed her eyes tightly.

"Hey, what's with your friend?" said the guy, "hey, blondie."

Quinn only opened both eyes when one assured he was covered in clothes.

"Never saw a naked man before?"

Her lips pulled to a straight line with a blush resting upon her cheeks ─ to the guy's amusement.

He gave her a flirty chuckle, his gaze wandering briefly from her toes up. "As if someone like you never saw─"

"Get out!" Judy said annoyed and urged the grinning guy outdoor. Finally alone, she turned to her frozen friend. "Sorry."

"Who the hell was that?" Quinn asked, still bewildered.

"Just a random dude, nothing to worry about," said Judy and received rattled silence from Quinn's side. "What? Don't act as if it's something new."

Quinn's eyes moved around space from left to right. "Yeah, but─ you... Uh... it's been a while..."

"So what? I'm single and free, I can sleep with whomever I want and whenever I want," said Judy, walking back into her room.

Quinn followed her and stopped at the doorway. "Well, that guy didn't look bad..."

Judy sat down on her bed, facing her long mirror while taking cosmetic measures on her face. "Of course he didn't. You think I'd open my legs for some average-looking guy?"

"Hehe..." Quinn was smiling in mild sarcasm. "That's very shallow of you..."

"I _am_ shallow."

"Yap. Ever thought that could hurt someone in your surroundings?"

Judy's face turned to look at her. "Like?"

"Just saying, no particular example."

She kept on staring at her before she made a full turn to grant Quinn her full attention. "How was your morning?"

"Oh, it went great! Except that I've ruined my pants because Law couldn't bother to avoid the potholes."

"And what about Sabo now?"

Quinn took a moment to replay the morning in her head, looking up into space. "It was fine." She took place on the end of Judy's bed and dropped herself down, staring at the ceiling as she began to tell about the entire conversation she had with Sabo.

Judy couldn't detect her lying or keeping anything secret, thus she got up with her mood eased. "That's great news, I was worried you'd fall into... a pothole again."

"Well, I was worried too," Quinn said with a smile to the ceiling, "but sooner or later I knew I'd drive on normal asphalt."

As she pushed her torso on her elbows up, she saw Judy was getting dressed. "I'm out with Stella today. Should I get you something from outside?"

"Huuuh, Stella? Since when you two become such good friends?"

"Guess we shared some similar problems," Judy said, rummaging through her big closet.

"I see..." Quinn approved Judy's choice with a thumbs up as that one held a dress in front of her body looking at Quinn. "Then I'm happy you've found someone to talk to. She must be nice."

"Quinn." Judy was looking with her with a sly smile.

"What?"

"It's not like I'm not talking to you about my problems." She put her dress on and moved back to the mirror to do her make up. "That's the good thing about having different friends. Some can help you in certain situations more than others, doesn't mean I'll neglect you now."

"I didn't say that!"

"Don't have to, I know what you're thinking."

"And how you tell that, huh?"

Judy paused for a moment to hum in mockery. "Hm..." She then continued doing her makeup. "Because I know you tend to get jealous easily?"

"I think you're thinking too highly of yourself, Ma'am," Quinn said and lay down on her stomach, watching Judy's reflection with half-lidded eyes, "it's not like you're my boyfriend or so."

* * *

 _ **Guest -** I appreciate your read!_

 _ **Amelie'sHuman** \- Well, would say Law was kinda worried but kept it for himself ;) Also, thank you very much! I was unsure if writing him too emotional would be mushy, so glad to hear you like it._

 _ **Apple Bloom** \- I'm also excited _ gahahah

 _ **Blueluna12** \- Can only tell sooner or later, it has to come hehe_

 _ **FeyFey** \- Aww, thanks! This means a_ _loooooooooooot to me and I really enjoy writing that grumpy x sunshine trope_

 _ **Velonica14** \- And reviews like yours make my week 10x better too hahaha. So thank you very much, I'm glad to keep you entertained with this story~!_

 _ **Jag** \- Sorry not sorry for the frustrating part? hahaha _

_**Hovering Squirrel** \- Thank you, I'll do my best :)!_

 **shippoman** _ **-** Oh man, thank you so much, very astounded to hear that and good luck with your One Piece AU! It's really fun to write hehe_

 _ **YukikoKitamura66** \- thanks as always!_


End file.
